In tribute: Retired CPD officers had 'dedicated, honorable careers'

CLOVIS — It’s hard to find a workplace that wouldn’t value somebody who notices details too small for others to detect. Likewise, those same workplaces would love an employee who can draw people in through conversation.

It seems, then, the Clovis Police Department was fortunate to get both of those things with Leon Morris and Doug Miller on staff.

The two retired CPD officers died in May — Capt. Morris on May 14 at the age of 73, Sgt. Miller four days later at age 70.

“They both had different personalities,” said Bob Morgan, who worked with both in more than a quarter-century with the department. “They were both good in their own way. They were dedicated police officers who did their thing, had honorable careers.”

For Morris, law enforcement was the chosen career following his time in the Marines during the Vietnam War. He started in the Tucumcari Police Department, and made his way up to captain at the CPD.

Former CPD Assistant Chief Joe Thomas noted Morris was an “outstanding police officer, very meticulous and conscientious about doing the right thing.”

They worked on countless cases over about a 20-year period, with Thomas remembering plenty of work on the emotionally challenging Matthew Roberts case in 1990. The 6-year-old was found approximately two weeks after he first went missing. Officials ruled he suffocated after accidentally locking himself in the storage compartment of a station wagon in the family driveway.

Morris was best known for his work in the evidence room, where Morgan said his detail-oriented nature was of extreme benefit. Though many officers probably hated it at the time, Morris was a driving force in updating department technology.

“He was responsible for developing the computerized system,” Morgan said, “and basically the entire computer system the department ran. He wasn’t a computer guy, but he built that from scratch.”

Thomas said he had a friendship outside of the office with Morris, and always talked about his family.

“Leon always had a smile on his face,” Thomas said, “and was good for a practical joke.”

What kind of practical jokes? “Nothing that could go in the paper,” Thomas said with a laugh. Morgan said something similar, citing it as the result of the dark sense of humor that helps some officers survive years of police work.

Miller, Thomas said, was one of the most dependable and respected people he’d ever worked with and solved cases other detectives couldn’t.

“If he told you he was going to do something, you could be sure it was going to get done,” said Thomas. It was a surprise to Thomas that Miller wanted to be a magistrate judge following his retirement, but he found Miller served the position well.

During Miller’s detective days, he was one of two detectives assigned to the West District. Everything north of 14th Street was the North District, and everything south of that was divided into the West and East districts with Main Street as the dividing line.

Morgan, who also served in the West District, said he marveled at how Miller could get confessions out of people.

“He just had his own style, his own methodology for talking to people,” Morgan said. “He was very good.

“People don’t understand how a police officer would have the ability to get people to admit things they don’t want to admit. It’s simply a matter of developing conversation skills. It’s kind of extraordinary to watch a good interviewer in progress. You’d never doubt his ability to get a confession from someone.”

A small ceremony to honor both was scheduled at the CPD, but postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. The two were publicly honored in a moment of silence by Mayor Mike Morris at the Clovis City Commission’s June 4 meeting.