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Oklahoma police chief killed, officer arrested after confrontation at Florida hotel, officials say

PENSACOLA, Fla. — An Oklahoma police officer is accused of killing his police chief during an altercation Sunday night at a Florida Panhandle hotel, authorities said Monday.

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Lucky Miller, 44, the chief of police in Mannford, was found dead by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office on Sunday, according to KOKI-TV. Deputies responded to a Hilton hotel in Pensacola and arrested Mannford police Officer Michael Patrick Nealey, 49, the television station reported.

Nealey was charged with second-degree murder and was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond, the Pensacola News Journal reported. Police did not say how Miller was killed, other than to report there was a "physical confrontation," the newspaper reported.

Update 12:25 p.m. EST Nov. 12: According to the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, deputies entered the Hilton hotel room in Pensacola around 9 p.m. to investigate an "unknown problem," KOKI reported.

Deputies found Miller dead with his face beaten and his eye swollen, but there were no other apparent injuries to his body, the television station reported. According to an arrest affidavit, Nealey had injuries on his face and his right hand was swollen and red.

Original report: Miller and Nealey were in Florida for a law enforcement conference, KOKI reported.

Authorities said the event is the Southeast Public Safety Training Conference, WEAR-TV reported.

The City of Mannford posted a statement on Facebook, writing that Miller was married with three children.

With sadness we report the death of Mannford Police Chief Lucky Miller who died November 10, 2019 in Pensacola, Florida....

Posted by City of Mannford on Monday, November 11, 2019

"We are heartbroken by the news," Mayor Tyler Buttram said on Facebook. "Please keep both families in your prayers as we work to move forward."

Mannford Town Administrator Gerald Haury named Jerry Ridley as interim police chief, according to the city's Facebook post.

Nealey will appear before a judge in Escambia County on Tuesday, WEAR reported.