Jun 13, 2021

Former Kansas sheriff, Attorney General dies at 92

Posted Jun 13, 2021 2:09 PM
Vern Miller -courtesy photo
Vern Miller -courtesy photo

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Former Kansas Attorney General Vern Miller, who gained notoriety for several law enforcement stunts during nearly 50 years in law enforcement, has died.

Miller died Friday at his home in Mesa, Arizona. He was 92.

His son, Marty Miller, attributed the death to old age but said his father had several cardiac issues over the years.

During his law enforcement career, spent mostly in Sedgwick County, Miller would hide in undercover officer’s cars and jump out to grab suspects. He also raided illegal gambling operations across the state and enforced the state’s then-ban on public drinking by stopping alcohol-serving passenger trains in their tracks and seizing booze on planes crossing into Kansas.

Miller was elected Kansas Attorney General in 1970, despite having never tried a case in court. He was so popular he won all 105 Kansas counties when he ran for re-election in 1972.

He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1974, losing to Robert Frederick Bennett. He then opened a private law practice in Wichita, and served as Sedgwick County district attorney from 1976 to 1980.