FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.: A former Florida deputy who worked at a school for children with emotional and behavioral problems was fired Wednesday, nearly two years after a video showed him slamming a female student to the ground after she tapped his knee with her foot.
Willard Miller, 40, was previously suspended without pay after he was charged in November 2019 with felony child abuse without great bodily harm. Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said in a statement that internal affairs investigations were delayed in 2020 because of numerous executive orders issued by the governor in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but those orders have since been rescinded.
Former Deputy Willard Miller is terminated from employment with the Broward Sheriffs Office for his egregious lack of control, discipline and numerous policy violations, Tony said. His action and behavior are not reflective of the great work and self-discipline frequently displayed by the overwhelming majority of my deputies.