Brian Palmer gets ready for his last day in his patrol car, while waiting for his new ghost ride to arrive.
STORY & PHOTOS BY
JILL HOLLOWAY
The calm in a storm Georgia State Patrol Trooper Brian Palmer has faced some of the toughest calls while working at GSP, but also experienced the highs that come with it.
G
eorgia State Patrol Trooper Brian Palmer loves serving the community and helping people. While the calls sometimes “make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up,” there is nothing he would rather be doing, as his service in law enforcement has allowed him to experience some amazing things. Palmer is the first in his family to join law enforcement. He was originally inspired by his friends, who seemed to really love the profession. “My friend (Pat Trolinger) was working at Bainbridge Public Safety, and I had some friends I had talked to at Florida Highway Patrol, and I thought hey I may really enjoy that,” Palmer recounted. Palmer then joined BPS, where he knew he had found
16 • Heroes
his calling. “I like being able to go to people in need during their worst of worst days,” he said. “I like trying to be that calm to their storm.” During his time at BPS, Palmer experienced some memorable cases, especially ones involving the lives of children. In 2008, Palmer got a call early on a Wednesday morning in reference to a house fire. “Me and Marvin Knight and Jeff Kelley were the first ones there, and the call said a small child was entrapped,” Palmer recounted. “Me and Marvin Knight suited up and I located a 2-year child, who had buried herself in the back of the house in a basket of clothes.”
