LAKE COUNTY — Levi Miller wasn”t expecting to go down in history when he enrolled in the California Highway Patrol (CHP) Academy in November 1999.
But after three of his brothers followed in his footsteps, the four of them just might end up in the CHP record books.
Levi and brothers Jesse, Caleb and Simon are just the second set of four brothers in the history of the CHP to all be officers serving simultaneously.
On top of that, they are all working out of the same CHP office, an unprecedented occurrence in CHP history. But it didn”t happen overnight.
Levi, 35, is the oldest of 10 children born to Joseph and Lori Miller, of Kelseyville. All 10 children (eight boys and two girls) went through the Kelseyville Unified School District. Joseph said the boys were involved in Boy Scouts and all eight attained the rank of Eagle Scout.
Joseph worked as a firefighter for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, now known as CAL FIRE, for 34 years, although he almost enrolled in the CHP Academy before becoming a firefighter.
He said many of his children have followed in his footsteps into public service. Levi once worked for CAL FIRE. Jesse, Caleb and Simon worked for the U.S. Forest Service. Another son, Samuel, is currently serving in Qatar as a major in the U.S. Army.
Levi said he was first stationed in East Los Angeles after graduating from the CHP Academy. When he would return home, he would share stories with his brothers from “the pursuit capital of the world.”
Levi said he was very happy in his job, having the freedom of going out on patrol on his own and serving the public. He said he managed to talk his brothers, who saw his happiness, into enrolling in the CHP Academy.
Jesse, 31, enrolled first in July 2005. After graduating, he was stationed in Central Los Angeles, close to Levi.
Next to enroll was Caleb, 28, in October 2007. Caleb was first stationed in San Jose after he graduated.
Simon, 29, was the last to enroll in the academy in July 2010.
Levi said most academy graduates are sent to populated areas, such as the greater Los Angeles area or the Bay Area, for their first assignment. Such was the case with Jesse, Caleb and himself.
The three of them had expressed a desire to work out of the same office, and they eventually applied for transfers to a station in the middle of the Mojave Desert known as the Morongo Basin area, located near the city of Joshua Tree.
Levi was first to be transferred to Morongo Basin in January 2006. Jesse”s transfer came through in June 2008. Caleb arrived there in May 2010.
Upon finding out there was a rare opening at the Morongo Basin office, the three encouraged brother Simon to put in for assignment to the office after his graduation at the end of January. Simon”s request was granted and the four were reunited as co-workers in February.
After all four were stationed together, Levi said he began looking into seeing if their situation was unique. He soon discovered it wasn”t quite unique. The Pappas brothers?Paul, Randy, Doug and Greg?were the first set of four brothers within the CHP in the 1980s.
But the Pappas brothers never worked together out of the same office. Paul Pappas worked in the Santa Clarita Valley, Randy in central Los Angeles, Greg in Williams and Doug in Lake County, according to a November 1985 Los Angeles Times article.
So unlike the Pappas brothers, the Millers work in the same CHP office, something their parents don”t find too surprising.
“We”re not surprised that they”re together because they grew up together,” Joseph said.
Levi said they often go out on patrols together as partners. He said Jesse and Caleb are often partners on the graveyard shift. Simon and himself also partner on occasion, Levi said.
Levi shared a story of a recent experience Jesse and he had on patrol. They were sent to a home on a call and, upon arriving, a man exited the house with two guns in his hands. The brother officers drew their weapons and coerced the man to dropping the weapons. After placing the man under arrest, they discovered the man had been holding BB guns. Levi said the communication he and Jesse had as brothers prevented them from taking the man”s life.
All four brothers are married, with Simon recently tying the knot in April, and the other three have children. Levi said their families all get together once a week for a barbecue and swimming.
While they may not always work together, Levi said the brothers have always been close and will never be too far away from one another.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14.
