Montana Highway Patrol State Trooper Wade Palmer was born and raised in Missoula, Montana. His childhood was typical, loving to play video games, football, ride bikes, hunt, and hangout with his friends. Palmer grew up in a family of ten children; he has four brothers and five sisters. His mother sadly passed away when he was 11 years old due to breast cancer. He and his wife, Lindsey, met while working together in 2003. In 2005, they got married and have spent the last 18 happy years together.
Palmer felt a pull to be involved in law enforcement from a young age. He wanted to be able to help others in their times of need. On February 3, 2012, Palmer was sworn in as a State Trooper for the Montana Highway Patrol and served one year in Havre, Montana. He then served the remainder of his service in Missoula, Montana. Palmer loved being able to help keep his state safe and help the members of his community and his main goal was to protect and serve the people of Montana. Throughout his career, Palmer was awarded with many decorations and accomplishments, including two Medals of Valor, VFW Trooper of the Year, and Governor’s Award for Excellence in Performance.
On March 15, 2019, Palmer responded to a wanted individual who was involved in a shooting. Before even exiting his vehicle, he was ambushed and sustained multiple gunshots, leaving him with a traumatic brain injury, a stroke which impacted his mobility on his right side, and loss of speech. Palmer spent two months at an in-patient hospital, followed by two additional months at an out-patient hospital where he participated in rehabilitation. He has since been continuing rehabilitative therapy two days per week. Palmer would like to thank his wife, Lindsey, his daughters, Mia and Cierra, and his friends and family for their love and support throughout his recovery.
Currently, Palmer loves all things history, football, hunting, and fixing things around the house. In the future, he is excited to see where his recovery process takes him and to see what the future holds for his family. He is grateful to Tunnel to Towers for the gift of a smart home, which will allow him to focus more on his children and not worry so much about the future. Palmer would like others to remember to keep fighting the good fight, keep a positive attitude, and work hard; anything is possible.