On April 27 in North Riverside, a man wearing a jersey with President Trump’s name emblazoned on the back stopped his unmarked Jeep in front of Breanna Pantoja’s truck, pointed a gun at her face, and physically yanked her out of her car. 

“I thought I was gonna fucking die,” the Berwyn resident told responding police officers.

The man driving the Jeep with “Prez 45” license plates was off-duty Forest Park police officer Lieutenant Daniel Miller. Miller—who was out of his jurisdiction—claimed he heard a “loud noise” when Pantoja lost control of her car outside of the bar Big Corner Tavern on Cermak Road in North Riverside, and he believed she had damaged parked cars.

Police later concluded that Pantoja’s truck lost traction on the slick roads while making a left turn, struck a curb, and caused no damage. She made sure nothing was amiss, and went on her way.

Police records show that a witness called 911 to report a citizen arresting someone and waving his gun around. Miller also made a 911 call where he identified himself as a police officer in his personal car. He told the operator that he intended to stop Pantoja, who he described as a “female Hispanic with piercings all over.”

Witness videos of the encounter show Miller aggressively yanking Pantoja out of her car, telling her to “stop reaching,” and a passerby asking Miller if he is on duty, which he ignores. 

North Riverside conducted their own investigation into the incident to determine if Miller’s actions broke the law. Citing an Illinois law that authorizes anyone to execute a citizen’s arrest if they believe a crime has been committed, Detective Sergeant Kyle Pinelli ultimately concluded that Miller had “reasonable grounds to believe that a criminal offense had been committed and acted within the authority provided by law.”

Throughout his 19 years with the Forest Park Police Department, Daniel Miller has a history of allegations of abuse, spanning from aggressive traffic stops to a fatal shooting to contributing to the death of a man overdosing just feet away from a hospital. A majority of the allegations did not result in discipline—and the village has paid at least three large sums in settlements stemming from his conduct on and off duty, Unraveled has found. 

Forest Park Village Administrator Rachell Entler confirmed that Miller remains off the street and on paid administrative leave pending investigation by an outside law enforcement agency: in this instance, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office. Unraveled has since filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for Miller’s attendance records over the last month.  

According to state records, Miller is the owner of the Stars and Stripes Sports Lounge, a sports bar in Indian Head Park, as well as Roselli’s Pizza Parlor, which sits next door. The website for his sports bar features the tagline “proudly serving heroes.”

A previous shooting

This is not the first time Miller—who was hired in 2007—has been investigated for drawing his weapon at a vehicle.

In 2017, Miller fatally shot 26-year-old Marco Gomez, leading to a lawsuit alleging the Village of Forest Park and its police department failed to properly train officers, encouraged excessive force, have a police code of silence, and failed to properly investigate police-involved shootings.

Attorneys accused the village of maintaining an environment that “encouraged the extrajudicial shooting of civilians.”

Officer Miller, who was in uniform, saw Gomez stopped at a red light in a vehicle suspected to be stolen during a hit-and-run. Miller got out of his patrol vehicle and approached Gomez’s vehicle, drawing his gun and pointing it at Gomez. 

According to the lawsuit, as Gomez attempted to drive away, Miller shot Gomez from the driver’s side of the vehicle with the trajectory of the fatal shot going “left to right, back to front, and upward.” Miller claimed he fired due to “fear for his life.”

An investigation by the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force determined “Officer Miller reasonably believed that Gomez was trying to strike Officer Miller as Gomez drove the stolen VW directly toward Officer Miller while attempting to flee.” Investigators ultimately concluded Miller’s use of deadly force was “reasonable under the totality of the circumstances.”

Gomez’s family sued the Village of Forest Park and Miller, who went unnamed as the officer who killed Gomez for 21 months following the shooting.

“Defendant Miller had good reason to believe that his misconduct would not be revealed or reported by fellow officers or their supervisors, that their false, incomplete, and misleading reports would go unchallenged by these supervisors and fellow officers,” attorneys alleged.

Four years later, in 2021, the Village of Forest Park settled the lawsuit with Gomez’s estate for nearly $600,000. While the village council unanimously approved the settlement, the village made no admission of guilt and “continue[s] to deny any and all fault, wrongdoing or liability.”

A 2018 investigation “Taking Cover” from the Better Government Association and WBEZ Chicago found that since 2005, of the 113 police shootings in suburban Cook County, not a single officer involved in those shootings was disciplined, fired, or charged criminally. It also found that deadly force policies are often ignored in Chicago suburbs.

“Conscious and deliberate disregard”

Unraveled has also learned that Lieutenant Miller was one of the officers involved in another wrongful death lawsuit in 2021.

On August 22, 2020, 27-year-old Dajuan Gates ended up in custody of Oak Park, Forest Park, and River Forest police officers. An Oak Park police officer handcuffed Gates after a Forest Park police officer said he witnessed Gates allegedly proceed through a stop sign without coming to a complete stop. He quickly became unresponsive, and unable to sit or stand. Officers then forced him into a police vehicle anyway.

The incident took place just feet away from Rush Oak Park Hospital’s emergency room doors. 

According to attorneys, Gates told police he had health problems and was in distress. His speech became “slurred and incomprehensible” before he lost consciousness. EMS did not arrive to treat him until 21 minutes after his arrest. According to the lawsuit, Gates spent his final conscious minutes handcuffed and foaming at the mouth in the back of a squad car.

By the time paramedics got to him, he was brain dead. He never regained consciousness, and was pronounced dead the next day. 

A lawsuit filed against the Village of Forest Park, The Village of Oak Park, and the Village of River Forest alleged the officers on the scene, including Miller, demonstrated a “conscious and deliberate disregard for the well-being of Mr. Dajuan Gates, resulting in his death from an accidental drug overdose.”

The lawsuit alleged Miller—along with Forest Park officer Brendan Reilly— recognized Gates had “physical lethargy and inability to breathe, talk, and walk properly,” yet accused him of faking his symptoms. 

Instead of immediately seeking medical assistance, officers instead allegedly taunted Gates, and threatened to “charge him federally.” 

“Be a grown man,” Miller said. “Stop playing games.”

It was Oak Park paramedics who eventually removed Gates from a Forest Park police vehicle and transported him to ROPH Emergency Department, the same hospital he had been in front of for more than 30 minutes. While he was in the intensive care unit, attorneys allege “Forest Park police officers handcuffed [him] to his hospital bed and took pictures of him.”

“The emergency room was only 60 feet away. They could have carried him in there,” attorney Daniel Kotin said.

Court documents show the lawsuit ended in a settlement of $3,600,000. Each of Gates’ surviving children received a portion of that sum.

According to Forest Park police records provided to Unraveled, Miller was exonerated of any misconduct allegations after investigative agency R.E. Walsh & Associates completed an internal review. The agency, which is based out of Oak Brook, is led by three former FBI agents who claim to provide “a professional objective perspective.”

A separate investigation conducted by the Illinois State Police Public Integrity Task Force and brought to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office for prosecutorial review resulted in no criminal charges filed against the officers. 

Miller was promoted to Sergeant in December 2021, shortly after Gates’ death. He was again promoted to Lieutenant in 2022.

A history of complaints

Miller has also repeatedly been accused of other misconduct on and off duty. 

In 2012, a jury awarded $175,000 to Chicago police officer Richard Schmidt after determining Miller and two other Forest Park police officers used excessive force when they allegedly repeatedly tased and beat a heavily intoxicated Schmidt following the village’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in 2008.

Records concerning complaints about Miller obtained from the Forest Park Police Department via FOIA request are scant on details. Some key descriptions of events were redacted.

Seven of the complaints sent to Unraveled were ultimately resolved as unfounded, four were exonerated, one was not sustained, three resulted in one-day suspensions, and one resulted in a letter of reprimand. 12 of the 17 complaints led to no reprimand.

One complainant alleges an illegal tow and racism from Miller in 2023. 

Another, from 2024, alleges Miller pulled them over for an expired tag and told the recipient that he had to give him a ticket to “keep up with diversity.” The complaint alleges Miller told the person the police department is being audited to “ensure they are giving the same amount to Blacks and whites.” 

The complaint goes on to say that when the recipient told Miller he was out of line, Miller whispered/mouthed “a very derogatory statement.”

Miller’s anger at being asked to identify himself has also been reported before. 

In October of last year, a complainant detained by Miller became upset after asking for name and the reason for stopping them. 

“As a citizen, we are supposed to feel safe by officers or anyone in the police department, not threatened or intimidated,” the complaint states. “His behavior was not appropriate and his escalation on the stop was not necessary.” 

On May 11, village commissioners approved hiring a crisis communications strategist for services regarding Miller. A village spokesperson has refused to comment further. A spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office confirmed their investigation into the April 27 incident is ongoing.