The standoff lasted several hours Monday in Miller’s apartment complex, ending in his arrest. Police said nobody was injured during the standoff. “He was in a dark place,” Sult said. “Felt like he was on his last leg.”
During the standoff, Miller called WRAL multiple times to tell his story and to offer critiques of the Cary Police Department. He also made reference to the large amount of attention his social media posts received. Chase Oliver, the Libertarian Party’s nominee for president in 2024, was among those who responded to Miller’s social media posts asking him not to take his own life or battle the police.
“Last night I was pretty depressed and suicidal, and I sort of put a suicide note on X, and it has gone quite viral,” he told WRAL during one of the calls. “Actually, millions of people have seen it. I usually get about 50 views on my post, but this one has gone super viral on me. I spent all night crying, and angry, and upset, and depressed, and all the emotions. And this morning I was tired, but I had things I needed to do. And I didn’t kill myself.
“So I got up and made coffee,” Miller continued, “and I had two sips of coffee, and I went outside to have a cigarette, and while I was having a cigarette, a police officer approached me, knew my name, saw that I had a holstered revolver on my hip, so he drew his weapon and told me to keep my hands away from mine. I told him I was going to refuse that order, and I backed away slowly until I was far enough away from him to turn and run, and then I turned and ran into the woods.”
Miller — after hours of being pursued — added: “They have been chasing me since this morning. They’re not very good at it. They really probably should get some more training on tracking somebody down.”
Asked why he called WRAL, Miller said: “I figured this story was probably going to make the news, so I thought you might have some questions for me.”
Asked if he was hurt, Miller told WRAL: “No. Not yet.”
“Are you afraid of getting hurt?” a WRAL employee asked Miller.
“A little bit,” he responded.
Asked why he was hiding in the woods, Miller said: “Because I don’t want them to take me into custody and then lock me up in a hospital.”
He then said he doubted he’d get adequate treatment in a hospital. “If I go to the hospital, I’ll spend approximately 15 to 30 seconds every day with a doctor, and that’ll be my time to talk it out,” Miller told WRAL. “He’ll write me a [prescription] for a drug that doesn’t help, and in a few days I’ll be right back where I’m at now.”
As the police closed in, he told WRAL: “I’ve been running around into the woods all day. You know, sometimes I can see them, sometimes I can hear them. So they’re close, but they can’t find me.”
He added that he was hoping police would ultimately give up the hunt. “I am hoping to wait them out and then disappear and never come back to Cary,” Miller said.
After police took Miller into custody, Cary’s police chief thanked WRAL for taking the calls.
“We were able to coach whoever was talking to him a little bit, and we were able to monitor that conversation with the permission of WRAL,” Sult said. “It gave us some additional insight, very consistent with what we were dealing with. It bridged the gap.”
(@JohnWakefieId) October 26, 2026
