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By Harold Gwin

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The police chief said Miller was searched before being placed in the cruiser.

EAST LIVERPOOL — Authorities are trying to figure out where Jason E. Miller was hiding a gun when he was arrested and put into the back seat of a St. Clair Township police cruiser.

Moments after his arrest at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Miller, 38, of East Liverpool, used the weapon to fatally shoot himself, said Don Hyatt, township police chief.

The Columbiana County sheriff’s office and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation are handling the investigation into Miller’s death.

Hyatt said Miller was wanted on a number of warrants, including shoplifting and failure to appear for court hearings, both by his department and others.

Police got an anonymous tip Friday night that Miller was in the area of Ainsley Road and McDonald Street in the township, and two officers went to the scene, Hyatt said. They spotted Miller walking at the intersection and took him into custody without incident, he said.

Miller was “patted down” in a search for any weapons or contraband and his hands were handcuffed behind his back before he was placed in the back seat of a cruiser, Hyatt said.

He was carrying a heavy winter coat over his shoulder when he was stopped and the officers put the coat on the hood of a cruiser while arresting Miller, the chief said. They began inspecting the coat after placing Miller in the cruiser when they heard what they described as a “popping sound” come from the car, Hyatt said.

They went to check on Miller and discovered he had shot himself with a handgun he had apparently been able to conceal on his person, the chief said.

Hyatt said he doesn’t know how or where Miller was able to hide the weapon. He had been able to work his handcuffed hands around to his right side, the chief said.

There is no indication that any disciplinary action will be taken against the two officers involved in the arrest, Hyatt said.

The Columbiana County coroner’s office will issue a ruling on the death, the chief said.

gwin@vindy.com