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Orrville police officer awaits trial on OVI charge; placed on paid administrative leave

DGKN staff report

WOOSTER  An Orrville police officer is awaiting a jury trial after pleading not guilty Monday to charges including driving under the influence of alcohol over the weekend.

According to a Wooster police report, Douglas S. Miller, 37, of Orrville, was traveling eastbound in a 2014 Chevrolet along E Bowman Street in Wooster and struck a parked vehicle on the south side of the street around 12:45 a.m. March 20. Miller’s vehicle continued eastbound along E Bowman Street and left the roadway to the right again and struck a U-Haul truck, the report states. No injuries were reported and the vehicle Miller was driving and the first parked vehicle were towed.

Miller is an officer with the Orrville Police Department. He was was immediately placed on paid administrative leave Sunday afternoon.
“Out of respect to the Wooster Police Department and the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office no statement will be made regarding the facts and details of their criminal case,” according to Orrville Police Chief Matt Birkbeck. “The Orrville Police Department will conduct a separate, thorough administrative investigation into the officer’s conduct during this incident.”

Court filings show Miller pleaded not guilty March 21. He is being charged with a first-degree misdemeanor of OVI or DWI, and two minor misdemeanor charges of failure to control

A pretrial has been scheduled for 2 p.m. April 12 in Wayne County Municipal Court. Following two other pretrial dates, a jury trial has been scheduled for 9 a.m. June 2 before Municipal Judge Timothy R. Vansickle.

According to the 2021 Annual Report on the Orrville Police Department’s website, Miller was hired in 2011 and is listed as one of the school resource officers. A 2018 report shows he had received two Life Saving Awards.

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