BILL NUMBER: SCR 83 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 122
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 7, 2010
ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 25, 2010
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 23, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 9, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Senator Negrete McLeod
(Coauthor: Senator Huff)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Torres)
MARCH 1, 2010
Relative to memorial highways.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 83, Negrete McLeod. Memorial highways: Officer Russell M.
Miller, Sr. Memorial Highway and Correctional Officer Jesus "Jesse"
Sanchez Memorial Highway.
This measure would designate a specified section of State Highway
Route 60 in Chino as the Officer Russell M. Miller, Sr. Memorial
Highway and a specified section of State Highway Route 83 in Chino as
the Correctional Officer Jesus "Jesse" Sanchez Memorial Highway. The
measure would also request that the Department of Transportation
determine the cost for appropriate signs showing those special
designations and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources
covering those costs, as specified, erect those signs.
WHEREAS, Both Officer Russell M. Miller, Sr. and Correctional
Officer Jesus "Jesse" Sanchez proudly served as law enforcement
officers in the State of California and it is appropriate to
designate state highway routes in the communities in which they
served and memorialize the sacrifices made by both officers; and
WHEREAS, We begin with Officer Russell M. Miller, Sr., a 12-year
veteran of the Chino Police Department, who died in the line of duty
on February 1, 2000; and
WHEREAS, Officer Miller was born on December 27, 1948; and
WHEREAS, Upon graduating from Magnolia High School in Anaheim,
California, in 1967, Officer Miller joined the United States Navy,
where he served six years at the height of the Vietnam War; and
WHEREAS, After leaving the Navy, Officer Miller held a series of
jobs working as a welder, truck driver, and construction worker, and
later applied to become a police officer; and
WHEREAS, After completing training, Officer Miller graduated from
the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Academy on February 5, 1988, and
joined the Chino Police Department, later acting in the capacity as a
field training officer and part of the department's mounted
enforcement team; and
WHEREAS, Officer Miller was known as an officer who was well-liked
and respected, and a stabilizing force in his patrol unit; and
WHEREAS, In subsequent years, Officer Miller also became involved
in family and community activities after his three children were
born; and
WHEREAS, Officer Miller coached Little League and assisted the
United States Naval Sea Cadets Corps that his son, Russell Jr.,
belonged to; and
WHEREAS, Officer Miller and his wife had also recently purchased
20 acres of land in Montana and were looking forward to retirement;
and
WHEREAS, However, on February 1, 2000, Officer Miller was involved
in a routine traffic stop, and, while approaching the stopped
vehicle, was struck from behind by a second vehicle, whose driver was
under the influence of alcohol; and
WHEREAS, Tragically, Officer Miller was critically injured, and
was transported to a nearby trauma center where he died while
undergoing surgery; and
WHEREAS, Officer Miller was laid to rest on February 7, 2000; and
WHEREAS, Law enforcement personnel came from throughout
California, and as far away as Idaho and Utah, to attend Officer
Miller's funeral service at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in
Chino Hills, California; and
WHEREAS, The ceremony was punctuated by both tears and laughter as
Officer Miller's colleagues recalled the man they knew, recounting
his immense love for his family and his skill as a police officer;
and
WHEREAS, At the end of the funeral service, one of Officer Miller'
s daughters, Melissa, released a white dove in a symbolic release of
her father; and
WHEREAS, Officer Miller is survived by his wife Stephanie, his
daughters Melissa and Sarah, his son Russell Jr., and his parents,
sisters, and brother; and
WHEREAS, Officer Miller's memory lives on through an annual
memorial 5K "Run for Russ" race, established in 2001 in Chino,
California, an event that brings the community together to celebrate
Officer Miller's life and that forges stronger neighborhood bonds;
and
WHEREAS, Lastly, in 1972, Correctional Officer Jesus "Jesse"
Sanchez, at 24 years of age, became a permanent correctional officer
at the California Institution for Men; and
WHEREAS, Officer Sanchez had worked his way through the ranks for
such a promotion as part of the federal government's new Work
Incentive Program; and
WHEREAS, Previously, Officer Sanchez had graduated from the
Correctional Officers School in Soledad with good grades and was an
excellent employee; and
WHEREAS, Officer Sanchez was ambitious and always asked what else
he could do to be a better officer and colleague; and
WHEREAS, Upon receiving word of his promotion, Officer Sanchez
moved his family to Pomona, assured of his future; and
WHEREAS, Tragically and shortly thereafter, Officer Sanchez was
gunned down during an ambush while escorting a prisoner to San
Bernardino County Court, along with his partner George F. Fitzgerald,
about a mile from Euclid Avenue on Edison Street in Chino; and
WHEREAS, Officer Sanchez was killed in the line of duty, and was
survived by his wife, Mercedes, a daughter, Beatrice, a son, Danny,
and his father, mother, and two sisters; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California
hereby recognizes the contributions made by Officer Russell M.
Miller, Sr. of the Chino Police Department to the people of the State
of California and hereby designates the section of State Highway
Route 60 between Mountain Avenue and Ramona Avenue in Chino as the
Officer Russell M. Miller, Sr. Memorial Highway; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature further recognizes the
contributions made by Correctional Officer Jesus "Jesse" Sanchez to
the State of California and hereby designates the northbound and
southbound sections of State Highway Route 83 in Chino between State
Highway Route 60 and the Kimball Avenue exits as the Correctional
Officer Jesus "Jesse" Sanchez Memorial Highway; and be it further
Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to
determine the cost of appropriate signs for each memorial highway,
consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway
system, showing those special designations and, upon receiving
donations from each nonstate source covering the cost of the
respective memorial highway, to erect those signs; and be it further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the Department of Transportation and to the author for
appropriate distribution.