Glenn E. Palmer (born 1961) is the former

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Grant County, Oregon Grant County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,233, making it Oregon's fourth-least populous county. The county seat is Canyon City. It is named for President Ulysses S. Grant ...

. 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. Palmer gained national attention with his controversial response during the armed

occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge On January 2, 2016, an armed group of far-right extremists seized and occupied the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Harney County, Oregon, and continued to occupy it until law enforcement made a final arrest on February 11 ...

in 2016. He met with armed militants and insurrectionists who were holding the federal facility and called them "patriots".

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.

Occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

In early February 2016,

LaVoy Finicum Robert LaVoy Finicum (January 27, 1961 – January 26, 2016) was one of the activists that staged an armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January 2016. After it began, the group organized themselves as the Citizens for ...

Ammon Bundy Ammon Edward Bundy (born September 1, 1975) is an American anti-government militant and activist. A car fleet manager by profession, Bundy gained widespread attention by leading the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He is t ...

, 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 The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

, and

Oregon State Police The Oregon State Police (OSP) is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OSP enforces all of Oregon's criminal laws and assists local law enforcement agencies. Terri Davie has served as Superintendent since November 1, 2020. The ...

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. 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. As of August 2016, Palmer was being investigated by the

Oregon Department of Justice The Oregon Department of Justice (DOJ), headed by the Oregon Attorney General (currently Ellen Rosenblum), is the main legal branch of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The DOJ is part of Oregon's executive branch, and most of its empl ...

for tampering with public records. There were eleven complaints against him. Palmer was reelected in 2016, with 51% of the vote.Sheriff who met refuge occupiers re-elected
, '' KOIN'', Shuly Wasserstrom, Nov 10, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2018.

Personal life

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Palmer, Glenn 1961 births Living people Oregon sheriffs Place of birth missing (living people) People from Grant County, Oregon