Roll of Honor
Incident
Officer John Miller was accidentally shot and killed while attending an FBI investigation training school in Washington, DC. He and another school attendee were practicing quick draw from the hip with unloaded weapons at their boarding house at 1717 P Street, NW. Officer Miller had asked the other officer to show him the move one last time before going to dinner. The other officer, forgetting that he had reloaded his weapon, drew the gun and pulled the trigger, striking Officer Miller in the head. The local coroner ruled Officer Miller's death as accidental. Officer Miller was a United States Army WWI veteran and had served with the Spokane Police Department for 10 years.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, son, and daughter.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-WA-CF63748D- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Officer Miller gave the Spokane Police Department 10 years.
Thank you for your service to the Spokane community, and for your service before it. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Military Service
John Henry Miller served in the United States military before joining law enforcement. Full service record available on salute.nw.
Officer John Henry Miller is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In WA, 111 of 339 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 32.7% of this state's fallen. That is 1.7 percentage points above the national rate of 31%.
At Spokane Police Department, 4 of 15 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 26.7% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. John Henry Miller's cause is highlighted.
How John Henry Miller Compares
When Accident Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. John Henry Miller is highlighted in Feb.
Incident Location
Others Who Wore This Badge
14 officers from Spokane Police Department are honored on badge.nw.
