Terry Miles loved solving puzzles as a child. As a Troy Police Investigator he solves some of the most important puzzles the City has.
Miles was named officer of the year because of one case in particular. He solved a crime that no one in the state had been able to solve. The crimes happened at Walmart stores from parts of Florida to the Tennessee state line.
A ring of thieves was stealing merchandise from the electronics departments. All Miles had to go on was surveillance video of the local incident.
“Terry really broke the case open, getting these folks identified,” said Police Lt. Bryan Weed. “He deserved this recognition for his hard work this year.”
Miles started by searching for similar cases in other counties. With the exception of Wetumpka and Montgomery, Miles found cases everywhere he looked.
“I figured they must have been from Montgomery and didn’t want to be recognized,” Miles said.
His take on solving crimes is each is another puzzle for him to solve. All of the pieces are there. He just has to find them and put them together.
Miles went into law enforcement in 2006 because he wanted to help people.
Growing up, the presence of police in his neighborhood was rarely a good thing.
“When we saw police, it meant people were going to jail,” he said. “I knew there had to be good officers out there. And I found out there were.”
The officers at Troy PD have become like family to Miles. He said he sees them more than he sees his family.
“We butt heads, but at the end of the day, everything is fine,” he said. “We’ve been called a ‘band of brothers’ before and I guess we are. You have to trust each other with our lives … and we have that here.”
Investigators work long hours and will never be rich.
“It’s a job you’ve got to love. You can’t do it for the money,” Miles said. “But, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
A good officer has to be loyal, patient, attentive and willing to listen, according to Miles. Investigators have to be able to see the big picture because things are not always what they seem.
When the time comes for Miles to retire, he says he will probably jump right into a new career. Sitting still just isn’t in the cards. Miles repairs appliances and imagines that will be his next career. He can fix anything from clothes dryers to refrigerators. “I’ll probably retire on Friday and start somewhere else on Monday,” he laughed.