VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Holly Hill Police Chief Jeffrey Miller has resigned from his role, city officials told News 6 on Thursday.
City Manager Joseph Forte said that Miller verbally resigned his position, though Miller was asked to submit the resignation in writing on Friday.
According to Forte, this comes amid an investigation into the police department after allegations about “inappropriate incidents” came up.
He sent out the following message to city employees on Thursday.
To the dedicated members of the Holly Hill Police Department and all City of Holly Hill employees.
I write to address recent developments within the Holly Hill Police Department that demand transparency and decisive action.
A few weeks ago, an allegation surfaced regarding inappropriate incidents involving a police sergeant. Without delay, I took immediate action by referring the matter to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office for an impartial internal investigation. As this investigation unfolded, today I was informed that additional accusations emerged implicating the Chief and Captain, prompting a necessary expansion of the inquiry.
In accordance with established protocol, individuals under investigation are placed on suspension with paid leave. Consequently, Chief Miller verbally tendered his resignation with immediate effect, while Captain Yates was placed on paid leave pending further investigation. Sergeant Fountain was similarly suspended and placed on paid leave.
To ensure the continuity of critical services provided by the HHPD and to support the Holly Hill community, temporary operational oversight has been established. Chief Westfall and Watch Commanders, Lieutenant Tucker and Lieutenant Bryan have been assigned by the Sheriff’s office to provide assistance. It is important to emphasize that this deployment is not an attempt to take over the HHPD but rather to fill operational gaps until such time as the Chief’s position can be permanently filled and to develop a collaborative effort to ensure uninterrupted provisions of critical services and safeguard every member of the Holly Hill community. Sergeant Bentley has been reassigned to fill the vacancy left by Sergeant Fountain. Chief Westfall will be temporarily filling the CID sergeant position with a member of the VCSO to be determined. This will be a seamless transition to all employees as well as residents.
City Manager Joseph Forte
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said he couldn’t comment on Miller’s resignation, though he explained that the sheriff’s office will “100%” support Holly Hill in a law enforcement capacity until the leadership situation is resolved.
“They’re not going to miss a beat. The citizens are going to get the same level of service, in many cases it might be enhanced because everything I have is going to Holly Hill to make sure this transition is as smooth and seamless as possible,” Chitwood said.
In the meantime, News 6 has reached out to both Miller for comment and is awaiting a response.
“We’re here until they tell us they no longer need us and the thing I impressed upon the city manager yesterday and the mayor today was do not rush quality for the sake of quantity,” Chitwood said.
News 6 received a copy of Miller’s resignation letter on Friday. You can read it below:
This is a developing story. Check back with News 6 for updates.
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