Glenn Palmer (sheriff)

Glenn E. Palmer (born 1961)[1] is the former sheriff of Grant County, Oregon. Palmer was the only Sheriff in Grant County history to be elected for five consecutive terms. He was first appointed in November 2000. Palmer lost his bid for reelection in 2020.[2]

Glenn Palmer
Sheriff of Grant County, Oregon
Assumed office
November 2000
DeputyZach Mobley
Personal details
Born1961 (age 61–62)

Palmer gained national attention with his controversial response during the armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2016. He met with armed militants and insurrectionists who were holding the federal facility and called them "patriots".[3][4]

Career

Palmer began his law enforcement career in 1985, working as a corrections officer. He later served as a Deputy Sheriff, and a patrolman in John Day. He was appointed Sheriff in 2000 and elected the same year; and was reelected in 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016.[2]

Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

In early February 2016, LaVoy Finicum, Ammon Bundy, and others left the site of the occupation in Harney County in two trucks to drive to neighboring Grant County, where they expected to speak at a public meeting. Just before crossing into Grant County, their motorcade was stopped by police. The occupants of one truck surrendered at the initial traffic stop. Meanwhile, in the other truck, Finicum repeatedly yelled to police that they were going to speak in Grant County. Finicum then fled, speeding towards Grant County. A short way before the county line Finicum encountered a roadblock, where he was shot in the back and killed by the Oregon State Police. While this played out, Palmer was in uniform at the public meeting in Grant County, waiting for the meeting to start. It is assumed he did not know about the roadblock just south of the Grant County line because the FBI, and Oregon State Police considered Palmer to be a security leak. It is assumed that the roadblock was intentionally set in next door Harney County in order that Palmer would be kept in the dark about the operation.[4]

Later that month, complaints were filed against Palmer by the chief of police for the city of John Day and also by the John Day dispatcher.[3][5]

As of August 2016, Palmer was being investigated by the Oregon Department of Justice for tampering with public records. There were eleven complaints against him.[6][7][8]

Palmer was reelected in 2016, with 51% of the vote.[9][10]

Personal life

Palmer and his wife, RoseAnn, have three children and two grandchildren.[2]

References
  1. Zaitz, Les (August 20, 2016). "Sheriff Glenn Palmer makes his own rules in Grant County". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  2. "Grant County Sheriff". Oregon State Sheriff's Association. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  3. "Complaint by Grant County dispatcher" (PDF). Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. February 11, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  4. Zaitz, Les (February 18, 2016). "Grant County sheriff viewed as 'security leak' as state seeks investigation". The Oregonian. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  5. "Complaint by Chief of John Day City Police" (PDF). Department of Public Safety Standards and Training. February 11, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  6. Zaitz, Les (August 20, 2016). "Sheriff Glenn Palmer makes his own rules in Grant County". The Oregonian. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  7. Hart, Sean (February 19, 2016). "Chief, dispatch manager complain sheriff's support of militia endangered the public". Blue Mountain Eagle. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
  8. Ortiz, Erik (March 19, 2016). "Embattled Sheriff Glenn Palmer, Linked to Oregon Occupiers, Under Scrutiny". NBC News. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
  9. Ryan, Jim (November 8, 2016). "Grant County Sheriff Glenn Palmer elected to fourth term". The Oregonian. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  10. Sheriff who met refuge occupiers re-elected, KOIN, Shuly Wasserstrom, Nov 10, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
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