SB Now

This is the full report on the ongoing saga of Operation Phoenix Center manager Mike Miller on charges of child molestation.

It includes passages that will not make the print version of tomorrow's paper:

By Andrew Edwards and Robert Rogers
Staff Writers

SAN BERNARDINO -- A key Operation Phoenix official who supervised recreational activities for city youth was arrested Thursday on suspicion of child molestation.

Michael Steven Miller, 48, of Highland, has served as a Phoenix youth center manager since July 2006. He started his career in the city's parks and recreation service in 1999.

"It's a tragic, tragic event," Mayor Pat Morris said in a telephone interview.

San Bernardino Police began investigating Miller on Tuesday July 1 when officers received a report that he had been involved in an alleged child molestation.

Miller was arrested at 1:20 p.m. Thursday at a Redlands restaurant, police said.

He was placed on unpaid leave Thursday morning, Jim Morris, the mayor's chief of staff, confirmed.

Police did not release the age or gender of the alleged victim. The
investigation was said to be ongoing. Several police officers converged upon the center Wednesday night while conducting the investigation.

Around noon the following day, more than a dozen small children and two or three teens played pool and video games while supervisors looked on.

Miller's office was closed and locked. Staff on duty declined to
comment, referring questions to the Police Department.

Operation Phoenix and city parks facilities are not the only venues where Miller has interacted with local children. He also worked for years as a local Little League umpire, a local administrator confirmed.

"At this point, I can't have any comment on it," said District 43 administrator Randy Robbins. "He was an umpire for District 43."

The Morris administration's Operation Phoenix program includes numerous anti-crime strategies that range from police patrols to a trio of community centers.

Morris said it would be "politics in the extreme" for other officials to use Miller's arrest as an incitement to wrangle over the fate of Operation Phoenix.

The mayor maintained that the allegations against Miller do not show that Operation Phoenix centers are dysfunctional.

"This is not some kind of a contagion. This is not some kind of cancer," Morris said.

But 7th Ward Councilwoman Wendy McCammack said the Operation Phoenix centers should be closed down pending a review to determine if there are adequate safeguards in place to prevent crimes against children.

"If the politicians of this city are not willing to do everything that is necessary to protect our children, then that is 'politics in the extreme,'" McCammack said.

Fourth Ward Councilman Neil Derry, who has questioned whether Operation Phoenix will solve crime problems, said he's not ready to go forward with closing the centers.

Third Ward Councilman Tobin Brinker said he wants the centers to stay open.

"It's a much bigger project than one individual," he said. "I can't see putting the brakes on this."

But McCammack said officials need to take a close look at the centers to find an answer to this question: "What didn't we do to prevent this type of alleged activity?"

City Attorney James F. Penman, who is often allied with McCammack, declined to say whether he wants the centers to close but said he is concerned about safety and supervision at the centers.

Pastor David Rhone of First Church of the Nazarene, which rents one of its facilities to the city for the center Miller heads up, said he was "shocked" when he heard about the allegations Thursday morning.

"Our position is that we are very sorry to hear about this and have great sympathy for the alleged victim and the family and we hope the allegations are not true," Rhone said. "Obviously, we're very saddened."

Rhone, a long-time Morris supporter, stressed his view that parents should not worry about the safety of their children at the Phoenix center.

"I don't think this is a pervasive problem at all," Rhone said. "I have full confidence in the Operation Phoenix staff."

But Rhone and others said they were concerned Miller's arrest could fuel criticism of Operation Phoenix as a whole.

"I am concerned that there are people in the political realm who will use this to further their own political ambitions and harm Mayor Morris and his positions," Rhone said. "I expect that this will be used as a wedge to advance the agendas of others," Rhone said.

John Longville, a former state legislator and Rialto mayor who supports Morris, had a similar view.

"It looks to be an isolated, tragic sitatuation calling for some specific response, but it shouldn't in any way reflect on the advisability of the overall need for multi-pronged approaches to crime problems," Longville said.

"When cases of police misconduct emerge, for instance, you don't immediately question the approach of using police for public safety," he said.

Councilman Chas Kelley, a frequent mayoral critic, was unaware of the arrest until a reporter informed him Thursday afternoon. He implied the incident underscores the importance of thorough background checks.

"I'm not commenting on this case specifically," Kelley said. "But this is why I did not support the ban the box iniitiative."

Police were tight-lipped with information most of the day Thursday.

At 1 p.m., about 20 minutes before Miller's arrest, Lt. Scott Paterson said, "We're looking into some issues of concern and that's all we have right now, period."

Less than one hour later, Jim Morris told reporters Miller had been
investigated and arrested.

At 3:33 p.m., Paterson sent reporters a press release on Miller's arrest.

McCammack and Derry said they also had trouble getting details on Miller's arrest.

"If I had been mayor, I would have called all the council members, the police chief, the city attorney, the city manager (and) had a pow-wow, called an emergency council meeting," McCammack said.

McCammack said she learned of Miller's arrest through reporters. Derry and Kelley said they also got word through unofficial sources, Kelley from a reporter.

"I shouldn't have to hear about this from guys out on the street," Derry said.

Brinker said officials notified him some time after noon Thursday.

The city's third Operation Phoenix center opened the day before police received a report of the alleged molestation.Monday,

Miller showed a reporter around the Speicher Park facility in eastern San Bernardino on Monday. He said he was looking forward to days when the new center would be up to speed and children would be able play sports, learn to repair bicycles and grow their own produce there.