MILFORD, Ohio — The Milford Police Department partnered with a local Walmart on Saturday for a “Fill a Cruiser” event, collecting school supplies from shoppers to help students in the community head back to class.
Officers set up outside the store and spent the morning loading a marked patrol cruiser with donated backpacks, notebooks and other classroom essentials gathered from customers, the department said in a Facebook post.
“Policing is a partnership,” the department said in announcing the drive, framing the collection as part of its broader approach to community engagement.
The department, which operates out of 745 Center Street, describes itself as a “full-service, value-driven police agency” and also runs a Citizen Police Academy and a vacation house-check program for residents, according to the city of Milford’s website. It holds accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, a distinction it first earned in 1989 as what was then the smallest agency in North America to achieve it, the city says.
The department has been led since January 2011 by Chief Donald “Jamey” Mills, who joined Milford police as an officer in 1994 and rose through the ranks as accreditation manager and sergeant before his promotion to chief. Mills, a 1990 graduate of Milford High School, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati, where he also teaches police administration and criminal investigation courses, according to the city.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Milford Police Department.