A Badge, A Son, and a Hellcat: How One Fallen Deputy's Legacy Still Drives Us Forward
- Kent Keller
- 3 hours ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 14 minutes ago
This is National Police Week where we honor our fallen and support our survivors.
Because of that, I figured this would be the perfect time to share this. I’ve written
about this before, and I will again because it is an amazing story that came from the
ashes of an unspeakable tragedy.
On Friday, November 19, 2010 I was living in Denver, Colorado as a 22-year-old kid
with my, now, wife. I had just been accepted to the police academy, set to begin in
January 2011. My wife and I celebrated that accomplishment and I was excited to finally start my law enforcement career. Less than a week later, I got a reality check that stuck with me my
entire career.
On November 23, 2010, Weld County (Colo.) Deputy Sheriff Sam Brownlee was
assisting neighboring agencies in a high-speed vehicle pursuit with a domestic violence
suspect. After disabling the vehicle just outside the City of Greeley, officers moved in to
arrest the suspect and a struggle ensued. The suspect gained control of Deputy
Brownlee’s service weapon and shot him three times.
Other officers on scene immediately returned fire, incapacitating the suspect who would
later die from his injuries. They then turned their efforts to rendering aid to Deputy
Brownlee. Deputy Brownlee was rushed to local hospital where he later died. Sam Kent
Brownlee was just 43 years old and left behind a wife, two children, and two step-
children.
Deputy Brownlee’s death was the first I experienced “in” law enforcement and drove
home just how dangerous, scary, and important this career is. I didn’t realize then just
how much this line of duty death specifically would impact and bookend my decade plus policing career. At the time, it just reaffirmed my commitment to serve and 6 weeks later I was in police academy.
Seven months after that, I was wearing the badge and doing my best to drink from a fire
hose in a rural North Eastern Colorado Community not too far from Weld County and
Greeley. And 4 years after that, on May 13, 2015, I was a police officer in Fort Collins,
Colorado; just west of Greeley and Weld County.
Deputy Brownlee’s son, Tanner, was 19-years-old and at a police auction trying to buy
his dad’s retired police car. For those that don’t know, once the government doesn’t
need equipment, they can just sell it to whomever they want. There is an extensive
auction process so nobody can privately benefit unfairly (that’s important context for the
story, I promise).
The next day there was a story in all the local, then regional, then national news
channels that some random rancher had outbid Tanner when he was attempting to buy
back Sam’s vehicle. Tanner only had a fixed amount, $15,000 to be exact. So, Tanner
went all-in. Everybody in the room knew who Tanner was and why he was there.
“Sixty thousand!” yelled wealthy Weld County Rancher, Steve Wells. The room was
shocked, the readers were shocked, and everyone that watched the video online was
shocked. As a serving officer, I was furious. What kind of person would do that to a
young kid trying to heal from his father’s murder?
The rancher took the keys, turned towards Tanner, placed them in his hands and said,
“Tanner, here’s your car.” I cried reading it, I cried watching it the first time, I cried watching it
to write this, and I cried writing this post about it. It is maybe one of the most touching, truly
unselfish things I have ever witnessed in my life. I will link the video for you to watch, don't worry.
Fast forward 5-years. It is 2020 and I am now a police officer for the City of Greeley Police
Department. And I know Deputy Brownlee’s widow, Heather Tharp, personally at this
point. Partially because Heather was, and still is, very active in the Northern Colorado
community with her continued support and commitment to Colorado law enforcement.
You may notice the change in Heather’s last name also.
You see, I also was introduced to Heather as the wife of a co-worker, Officer Greg Tharp
(Ret.) of the Greeley Police Department. I don’t think I have ever shared just how much that event, the community’s response, and their response as a family to that tragedy impacted me.
Personally witnessing how Heather and her family not only survived the trauma of losing
Sam, but thrived was inspiring. Heather not only advocates for officers to this day, she
also is working on helping the other side of the coin do better as a corrections
counselor.
I retired from the Greeley Police Department after nearly 12 years of service in 2022,
due to a serious on-duty vehicle accident, and now live hundreds of miles away back
home in the Omaha-Metro area. Still keeping tabs on my friends back in Colorado (old
cop habit) I see an article about Tanner Brownlee and Steve Wells, on the 10-year
anniversary of the auction.
I click the link so fast I shatter my mouse. So, I plug in a spare, take a breath, and open
the link. It was Steve Wells, Tanner Brownlee, and Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams
(who was also the sheriff then…it’s his last term this go-round unfortunately). Tanner
drove the car until it couldn’t drive anymore; which is impressive as cop cars are
ROUGH sometimes. And then Sheriff Reams purchased the car from him (I told you it
was a good story).
The Steve’s asked Tanner what it is he does here (Office Space joke) and they caught
up, share memories about Sam, and enjoyed some laughs. But Steve hated that Tanner
didn’t have a Mopar vehicle now, so like any angel on earth would do, he pulled keys to
a 2016 Dodge Challenger Hellcat from his pocket and tossed them to Tanner. In case
you were waiting for the “Behind The Music” dark turn in the story…it’s not coming.
Seriously just positive tear-inducing event after positive tear-inducing event.
Great work Tanner, Heather, Steve Wells, the Brownlee Family, Tharp Family, Sheriff
Reams, Weld County Sheriff’s Office, Greeley Police Department, Weld County District
Attorney’s Office, and the Weld County community as a whole. I’m from the Midwest,
but spent nearly 15-years in Colorado. I greatly miss that whole community and the
people in it. This story reaffirms all of that for me.
Being National Police Week 2025, there are several non-profits that help law
enforcement officers in one way or another. If you could donate to one of them of your
choosing, in Deputy Brownlee’s name, you can help ensure no more families have to
endure this same pain.
Deputy Sam Kent Brownlee - WC679 – EOW 11/23/2010
Kent Keller is a seasoned Brand Consultant, Social Media Manager, and Copywriter. He also acts as the Chief Executive Officer of OS Media Group. With over a decade of experience as a police officer and nearly five years as the Public Information Officer and Media Relations Manager for a prominent police agency, Kent brings a wealth of expertise to the proverbial table. His background, combined with his successes in developing numerous marketing campaigns and brand strategies, uniquely positions him to assist you in effectively engaging with your customers or community members. Reach him directly by e-mail at Kent@OSMediaPromo.com or www.OSMGMarketing.com today.