Deputy Taner Primmer

Brevard County (FL) Sheriff’s Office

Washington, DC—The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has selected Deputy Taner Primmer, of the Brevard County (FL) Sheriff’s Office, as the recipient of its Officer of the Month Award for September 2017.
On March 11, 2017, Deputy Taner Primmer, assigned to the Agricultural Marine Unit, was working in Port Canaveral, Florida, the nation’s largest cruise port. He was escorting a Carnival Cruise Line ship out of the port when he received word from Canaveral Pilot in Command Captain Doug Brown, aboard the ship, of a potentially dangerous situation. Capt. Brown informed Deputy Primmer that two women had fallen off a jet ski and were being pushed into the main channel by the wind and tide, into the pathway of the cruise ship.
Deputy Primmer maneuvered his patrol vessel around the bow of the ship to try to rescue the women. At the same time, Capt. Brown worked to slightly veer the ship in the tight channel to buy the deputy some time.
Deputy Primmer pulled his vessel up to the women and attempted to pull them into the boat several times as passengers aboard the cruise ship watched. Less than 10 feet away, the patrol vessel was in the shadow of the cruise ship when Deputy Primmer was able to pull the second woman into the boat. He quickly maneuvered his vessel out of the way of the 17-story ship, as the jet ski bumped into the hull of the cruise ship. The entire rescue was caught on video by a passenger on the ship.
A month later, Deputy Primmer was again a hero when he saved a woman who was choking at a local restaurant. He was off-duty and enjoying a meal with his family when he noticed the woman in distress. With two abdominal thrusts, he was able to dislodge the throat obstruction, saving the woman’s life.
“Were it not for the quick actions of both Deputy Primmer and Port Canaveral Harbor Pilot Doug Brown, the girls could have been pulled under the ship, causing potentially serious, if not fatal, injuries,” said Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey.
“Under the extreme pressure of a major cruise ship barreling in on his patrol vessel, Deputy Taner Primmer was able to save two women who were in harm’s way, risking his own life to do so,” Memorial Fund President and CEO Craig W. Floyd said. “We are grateful for the fast actions by Deputy Primmer and present him with the Officer of the Month Award for September 2017.”
Located in the nation’s capital, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund is a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring the service and sacrifice of America’s law enforcement officers. The Memorial Fund’s Officer of the Month Award Program began in 1996 and recognizes federal, state, and local officers who distinguish themselves through exemplary law enforcement service and devotion to duty.
Deputy Taner Primmer, along with the other Officer of the Month Award recipients for 2017, will be honored during National Police Week at a special awards ceremony in Washington, DC, in May 2018.

The Police Unity Tour is the official sponsor of the Memorial Fund’s Officer of the Month Program.