Sherriff Derrick Palmer
Murphy – Imagine if he started a private investigative firm where he documented infidelity in the county.
Such a firm is just one of many future possibilities for Cherokee County Sheriff Derrick Palmer, who has decided he will not seek a third term in 2022.
“I’m not resigning, and I’m not leaving early,” Palmer told the Cherokee Scout. “However, I’m not going to seek re-election.”
Palmer made his decision after evaluating the state of affairs at the beginning of the new year.
“Honestly, my reasoning for wanting to run again was a monetary one, and when I really started thinking about it, I realized that’s not a reason to hold this position,” Palmer said. “I’m proud of where the office is now, and I’m ready to step back and let someone else do the job.
“I believe two terms is plenty. I think every elected position, including Congress, should have a term limit.”
Palmer said he never intended to remain sheriff this long. However, shortly after taking the oath of office, he realized the department’s internal problems were greater than he anticipated.
“The day I was sworn in, people from the health department were here to shut down my kitchen,” Palmer said. “There were more problems than I could really fix in my first term, while having leftover employees from the previous administration.
“Things started smoothing out toward the end of my first term, and that’s when we started getting all of the jail accusations. I couldn’t in good conscience just leave and not run again, because I didn’t have the office where I wanted it to be at that point.”
Since then, federal authorities have cleared the sheriff’s office of any criminal wrongdoing. Meanwhile, Palmer said he has updated the department’s policies and procedures, improved its methods of operation and slowed the turnover rate.
Looking back, Palmer said he didn’t truly understand the magnitude of responsibility that comes with being sheriff.
“I was in Alabama on vacation [when Joshua Long died while in custody], but my name is all over that lawsuit in an official and individual capacity,” Palmer said while illustrating his point. “It doesn’t matter if you’re in the Caribbean, you’re still thinking about what’s happening at home that can get you sued.”
He said there are also some “unreasonable expectations” that come with the job. He shared anecdotes about citizens who became mad because he failed to wave at them on the highway or couldn’t spring their relatives out of prison.
“Whenever something is wrong, people call the sheriff – and if the sheriff don’t fix it, the sheriff is at fault,” Palmer said. “There’s never a downtime when you can relax with your family and do stuff with your kids to totally get away from the job.”
Palmer, who will turn 49 years old on March 16, joined the sheriff’s office in 1996, after questioning his career choice and remembering a time as a youth when he longed for the day he would be “big enough” to help people who are abused.
He said he’ll miss investigating drug cases, if he decides to leave law enforcement altogether after completing his second term as sheriff.
“Drug cases are different from other cases. If you have a murder, there’s evidence and a puzzle that you have to put together. But with drug cases, you start with nothing,” Palmer said. “I would miss working those cases from the ground up.”
Even though his term doesn’t conclude until December 2022, Palmer said he has several job offers on the table and may stay in law enforcement for a few more years after his tenure as sheriff. He is also contemplating other career options and has been taking real estate classes at Tri-County Community College.
“I’ve always said that when I step away from being sheriff, I want a couple things to be true,” Palmer said. “I want my family to still be intact, and I want to feel good about what I’ve done and the office I’m leaving.
“At the end of my first term, I couldn’t say that about the office. But I’m in a place now that I feel good about both. I can step away knowing that I did the best I could do for the citizens of Cherokee County and left the office in good shape for the next sheriff.”