MHP provides injury update on Trooper Wade Palmer

A statement updating the condition of former Havre Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Wade Palmer was released this morning by Palmer’s wife, Lindsey, and Montana Highway Patrol Commander Col. Tom Butler

Wade Palmer was shot Friday in Evaro while investigating a triple shooting in Missoula.

“Trooper Palmer was shot three times in the head, face and neck,” the statement said. “He is stable but his condition is still considered extremely critical. He remains in a medically induced coma at a Utah hospital. He has not regained consciousness since the shooting on Friday.

“Due to the nature and extent of his injuries, it may be some time before we know more about his prognosis,” the statement added.

The suspect in the shooting, Johnathan Bertsch, is being held on $2 million bail on charges of deliberate homicide and three counts of attempted homicide.

Palmer’s first assignment was in Havre. He received the Medal of Valor in 2014 after saving a woman who was thrown from her car after a semitractor-trailer plowed into it because of slippery roads.

Butler said that people who want to send cards and letters can mail them to Attn: Palmer Family, Montana Highway Patrol Headquarters, 2550 Prospect Ave., Helena, MT 59620. Palmer’s colleagues have also started a GoFundMe page to help with expenses at https://www.gofundme.com/trooper-wade-palmer-expense-fund/.