Facebook Michael Nealey (l) and Lucky Miller (r)
Michael Nealey is a Mannford Oklahoma police officer who is accused of murdering his department’s police chief when they were in Florida for a law enforcement conference on death investigations.
Michael Patrick Nealey, 49, is being held in Escambia County, Florida on a homicide charge, according to jail records, in the death of Police Chief Lucky Miller. The death and arrest are shocking people in tiny Mannford who knew the men and described them as close, even best, friends. The specific charge is “MURDER DANGEROUS DEPRAVED WO PREMEDITATION,” court records say.
Mannford is a community of about 3,000 people located 25 miles from Tulsa, Oklahoma. The men were in Florida to attend the Southeast Public Safety Training Conference, according to WEAR-TV, and they were staying in the same hotel room.
“We were told they came here together and were in town for a conference,” Escambia County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Melony Peterson told Pensacola News Journal.
Tulsa World reported that the men were in Florida to get training on how to tell the difference between homicides, suicides, and natural deaths.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Michael Nealey, a Detective on the Mannford Police Force, Was Arrested After a Physical Altercation at a Hilton Hotel
MugshotMichael Nealey
Early reports allege that an argument between the two men grew physical and then Miller was found dead in the hotel room they were sharing in Pensacola Beach. Nealey was a detective on the force.
No weapon was found, and it’s believed Miller died due to injuries inflicted in the fight with Nealey, according to Tulsa World.
According to WEAR-TV, authorities allege that Miller was lying on the ground, pulseless and not responsive when they arrived, and Nealey was also lying on the ground “mumbling.” Miller’s face was battered, with an eye swollen, and Nealey’s hand was swollen and red, according to WEAR.
The television station reports that a maintenance worker had previously responded to a noise complaint at the hotel room, heard someone “grunting,” and allegedly found Nealey sitting on Miller. When the worker pulled Nealy off Miller, Nealey’s face struck the ground.
Furthermore, WEAR-TV reported, people in the hotel said they heard a “roaring” sound in the room and someone yell, “stop it, Mike,” as well as laughing and yelling.
Deputies responded around 9:50 p.m. to the Hilton on Pensacola Beach on Sunday night, November 10, 2019 to a call for a physical altercation, and they found Miller dead, according to WEAR-TV. The motive is not yet clear, nor is what sparked the argument.
Carterson Public Safety Group, Inc. wrote in a press release, “We are saddened by the news of the incident that occurred the night prior to the start of our conference. We would like to extend our condolences to the families and agency of those involved.”
2. The Families of Both Men Don’t Understand What Transpired & Everyone’s in Great Shock, the Mayor Says
Michael Nealy with his family
The community’s mayor, Tyler Buttram, has given a series of statements to the news media expressing bafflement over the death.
“We are heartbroken by the news,” Buttram said in a news release. “Please keep both families in your prayers as we work to move forward.”
Court records show that Nealey was ordered to have no contact with the victim’s family members.
Court record in Nealey’s case.
To Tulsa World, Buttram expressed great shock. “…two families have been devastated by this horrible tragedy,” he told the news site. “They do not understand what’s going on. None of this makes sense. Not one single person can fathom the thought of any of this. It’s so confusing.”
3. Miller Had Served as Mannford’s Police Chief Since 2007 & Both Men Seemed Like Family Men in Facebook Photos
Lucky Miller
The City of Mannford, Oklahoma released a statement confirming Miller’s death. “With sadness we report the death of Mannford Police Chief Lucky Miller who died November 10, 2019 in Pensacola, Florida,” the press release says.
“Details of the incident are not fully known at this time. Miller, 44, has been Mannford Police Chief since 2007.” However, Tulsa World described the death as resulting from “an alcohol-fueled brawl in a Florida Panhandle hotel room.”
On Facebook, both men’s wives posted seemingly happy family photos showing them with kids.
Mannford Town Administrator Gerald Haury has named officer Jerry Ridley as interim police chief, according to the news release.
According to the Mannford press release, Lucky Miller was “survived by his wife, Amber, and three children.” Ridley, the new police chief, described Miller to Tulsa World as a family man who loved day-to-day police work and was a “natural leader.”
4. Alcohol Probably Played a Role in the Brawl, Sheriff’s Officials Say
What went down in the hotel room that night probably had something to do with alcohol, according to comments by Florida sheriff’s officials.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Amber Southard told Tulsa World that Miller’s death likely came from injuries incurred “in a physical altercation with Nealey” and hotel security had been called because the men were “being disruptive” and fighting earlier in the evening. She described it as “an actual physical altercation,” to Tulsa World.
Alcohol was involved, Southard told Tulsa World.
5. The Mayor Described Nealey & Miller as ‘Literally Best Friends’
FacebookMannford, Oklahoma Police Chief Lucky Miller.
The men were very close once – at least people around them perceived them as so.
“They were literal best friends, where you saw one you saw the other, that’s why it’s hard for everyone because it just doesn’t make since,” Mayor Buttram told writer Dane Hawkins.
Buttram told Tulsa World a similar story: “Lucky was a great man, but I’ll be honest, so was Officer Nealey. Those two were the best of friends. Where one was, the other one was. They were always together.”
According to Escambia County, Florida jail records, Michael Patrick Nealey, 49, was booked into the jail on November 11, 2019 at 7:18 a.m. and is being held on a homicide charge. Nealey is a Mannford detective, according to Tulsa World.
Jail booking records.
Nealey is being held with no bail. The Escambia County jail exempted his photograph from public records release, but it does show up on a website that allows people to track those held in custody around the country. Online records show Nealey with addresses in Texas until he shows up in Oklahoma in 2000.
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