Sergeant’s retirement marks the end of an era in Riverhead Police Department

Tomorrow marks the end of an era in the Riverhead Town Police Department.

It is the final day of duty for Riverhead Police Sergeant Stephen (Tim) Palmer, who is retiring after 36 years of service. At the end of Palmer’s shift tomorrow afternoon, the town police force will not have a cop named Palmer in its ranks for the first time in 68 years.

Palmer’s father Roscoe joined the department as a patrolman in 1953 and was chief of the department when his son was appointed a full-time police officer on March 5, 1986. (The chief actually had two sons follow in his footsteps; Tim’s brother Dixon became a Riverhead police officer about a year before him. Dixon retired in January 2019.)

A lifelong Riverhead resident, Palmer worked for the National Park Service as a ranger on Fire Island before joining the Riverhead Police Department.

Palmer said he enjoys the work a lot, though it can be difficult.

“You have to deal with a lot of things, murder scenes and fatal accidents, that really wear on you,” Palmer said. “It can kind of eat you up inside.”

He was promoted to the rank of sergeant almost 30 years ago, in September 1991.

“I’ve supervised every police officer and most of the sergeants on the job through the years,” he said.

“You have a very strong sense of family in your squad,” Palmer said. “You all experience the same things.” A squad consists of patrol officers, two public safety dispatchers and a desk officer. They work the same shifts and develop a strong bond, he said.

Palmer has been involved with the training section for quite a while, serving as an instructor in different areas, including domestic violence, mental health, tasers and auto crimes. He served as the coordinator for the STOP DWI program and was the law enforcement liaison to the Riverhead Youth Court at its inception. It was the first youth court in Suffolk County, Palmer said. He also served as the sergeant in charge of the street crime unit.

Every day is different, he said. Every call is different — even calls to the same location involving the same people.

“You just never know what you’re going to encounter,” Palmer said. Some days, things happen fast and furious the minute your shift starts, he said. Other days, it will be quiet until your shift is almost over and then something big happens and you could be tied up for hours after your shift was supposed to end.

While juggling his full-time job as a police officer on shift work and his responsibilities as a husband and the father of three young children, Palmer earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice at LIU-C.W. Post.

“I’m proud that I was able to do that,” he said.

Palmer was also a first alternate for a Fulbright fellowship in police studies. It’s a very competitive program that admits only two police officers from the U.S. to study in Great Britain. They usually admit cops from larger police agencies, he said.

“I had a decent topic that I thought was cutting edge back in the ‘90s,” he said. His topic — delegating certain police functions to civilian employees — is still a hot topic today, he noted.

Palmer said he favors having social workers, for example, respond to certain types of calls. But police should respond first to make sure the scene is secure and the other responders will be safe.

“Police work is continually changing,” Palmer said.

Palmer, 63, is looking forward to retirement.

“I have three things on my bucket list. I wanted to go to every Major League Baseball stadium. I have one left — the new Rangers stadium. I wanted to visit all the national parks. I’ve been to half of them, so I plan to finish that. And I’m going to complete the Appalachian Trail,” Palmer said.

“And I’m going to just enjoy retirement — a little travel, gardening, just kick back and enjoy life,” he said, adding “at least for a while. I’m not the kind of guy that can just stay around and not do anything.”