Longtime Pismo Beach police chief retiring

January 6, 2021

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

Pismo Beach Police Chief Jake Miller will retire in April after spending 27 years with his city’s force and more than six years at the helm of the department.

Miller, a longtime Pismo Beach resident, joined the South County city’s police department in 1994. He rose through every rank in the department, becoming chief in Aug. 2014. Miller’s retirement is effective April 1, the city of Pismo Beach stated in a news release.

His tenure with the Pismo Beach Police Department has included work in the patrol and traffic divisions, as well as the investigations bureau. Miller held roles including motor officer, field training officer, firearms instructor, arrest and control instructor, detective, SWAT operator, team leader and tactical commander for the San Luis Obispo Regional SWAT Team.

Miller has always been a proponent of continual training, instruction and audits by all personnel to gain professional exposure from outside the police department, as well as within, according to city officials.

Miller was also instrumental in the police department, in 2007, attaining national accreditation through the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

“For 27 years, Jake served the community with honor and distinction. He embodies integrity and professionalism and models the highest standards for a law enforcement professional,” Pismo Beach City Manager Jim Lewis said in a statement. “Chief Miller was able to connect with the community through his wit and elan to engage and connect like few other executives.”

Miller graduated from Cal Poly with a degree in history and obtained a graduate certificate in criminal justice from the University of Virginia in 2012. Miller is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy and the Sherman Block Leadership Institution. Likewise, he is an Eagle Scout.

“Having the opportunity and privilege to be a police officer was only surpassed by the ability to perform it over an entire career here in Pismo Beach,” Miller said in a statement. “To be honored with leading the agency, that was truly a blessing even I was not sure I deserved every day. My depth of gratitude is not expressible to our entire community, the city council and the men and women of the Pismo Beach Police Department. It truly is the finest police department in the nation.”

The city is now beginning a recruitment process for a new chief. The search is expected to take several months.