KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The man accused of gunning down two Kissimmee police officers received more than a dozen medals while serving in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1989 through 2010, USMC service records reveal.
Everett Glenn Miller, 45, worked as a security force guard, warehouse clerk and imagery analysis specialist, records show.
Miller was deployed to the Middle East in February 2005 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He returned to Iraq for a second tour of duty in 2007.
Miller’s last assignment was at U.S. Special Operations Command, located at MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa.
"He's a nice guy," said Cartrell Bright, who lives a few houses down from Miller's parents. "He and my son were really good friends."
Bright said he was heartbroken to learn Miller had been arrested for the murders of Kissimmee Police Sgt. Richard "Sam" Howard and Officer Matthew Baxter.
According to Bright, Miller has shown signs of mental illness.
"He's sick," Bright told News 6. "He just lost his mind or something."
The Osceola County Sheriff's Office recently took Miller into custody for a mental health evaluation, authorities said.
The agency has not disclosed why the former Marine was involuntarily committed to a mental health facility under Florida's Baker Act, nor is it known whether Miller received any treatment.
Miller unofficially changed his name to Malik Mohammad Ali, acquaintances confirmed, although Miller wrote on his Facebook page that he is not Muslim and does identify with any other religion.
In the days prior to the shooting, Miller posted several articles on Facebook related to the Ku Klux Klan and Neo Nazi demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia.
On the morning the police officers were killed, Miller posted a meme of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that included the caption, "When I said march I didn't mean forever (expletive). Shoot back."
"You can only poke a tie (sic) up dog so long," Miller wrote above the photo. "Once that chain breaks it's over. Wake up America before it's too late."
Later that day, just hours before Miller would be accused of murdering two police officers, he posted an article on Facebook suggesting white supremacists had infiltrated police departments.
"F--- you, rich bastards," Miller wrote above photos of police officers allegedly wearing KKK hoods.
Miller's Facebook page disappeared from the social media website Saturday night. It is unclear whether it was removed by Facebook employees or deleted by an acquaintance of Miller.