SYLVANIA, Ohio —
As early as seventh grade, Danilynn Miller knew she wanted to be a police officer.
"I went to a career fair, and they had a patrol there talking, and instantly fell in love with the career field," Miller said.
Now, after 28 years of loyal service at the Sylvania Police Department, she's their new chief of police, and Miller said she has felt a whirlwind of emotions.
"This is something I've strived for my whole career so to actually attain that goal, it's amazing," she said.
As the department transitions from one chief to the next, Miller said the citizens of Sylvania can expect a sense of continuity and the same quality of service.
"I don't want that to change, if anything I want it to be even better than it is," she said.
But in place of major structural changes, Chief Miller said she plans to emphasize virtues in the department and treating the community with respect.
"We may be police officers, but we're still human beings," she said. "We should still be focusing on treating people with the respect they want to treat us with. And remember that we're just here to do a job and this job does not define us as people."
While Chief Miller said the office still feels unfamiliar, her predecessor, now-retired Chief Rick Schnoor, said he is confident in his successor.
"I couldn't be prouder of her, and more thankful to her for what she's done to get us through all of these crazy situations over the years," Schnoor said Monday.
Chief Miller said in the coming months she'll be active at local events such as the fall festival and recruitment fairs. She invites anyone to come up and say hi, because it's the community that brought her to Sylvania, and it's the community that makes her continuing service worthwhile.
"It's just home. It's one of those places where you know when you get there it feels right," she said.
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