More than a number: The story behind badge 438 

For most of his 28 years with the Minnesota State Patrol, retirement was something Lt. Col. Jeremy Geiger could see only in the distance.  

Now it’s here.  

As Geiger prepares to trade in the uniform, he finds himself looking back. At the center of it all is his badge.  

“For 55 years a Geiger has had badge SP438, which is pretty outstanding,” Geiger said.  

The badge first belonged to his uncle, Charlie Geiger, a State Patrol major who inspired him while he was still in high school.   

“It was all about being a state trooper, because of what I saw in my uncle and what I saw with the troopers that I rode along with. There was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to go down that path.”  

But it was not as easy as he had hoped. After college, Geiger found himself competing against hundreds of other applicants. Realizing he needed more experience, he joined the Marine Corps.   

A few years later, he tried again.   

In 1998, Geiger was accepted into the Minnesota State Patrol academy, beginning a career that would span almost three decades. 

Lessons from the road  

Geiger’s career goal was to become a district captain, which he did in 2013.  

But his path did not end there.  

After 2020, he moved to the central office to oversee special projects, helping lead state fair security, street racing operations and many other high-profile events and projects.  

He continued up the ranks to become the agency’s second-in-command.   

Yet even as his responsibilities changed, the lessons he learned on the road stayed with him.   

One of the earliest lessons came in 1999 on Interstate 90, during a cold, snowy night.   

Geiger, a new trooper patrolling three counties on his own, moved from crash to crash until he approached what seemed like a routine rollover.   

“I thought this was the next one. Just another rollover with no injuries.”  

But then he saw a man crawling out of the wreckage.  

“As I’m talking to the older gentleman, the question’s coming out of my mouth: ‘Is there anybody else in the vehicle?’” he said. “And as I’m saying it, I can see the hand underneath the vehicle.”  

It was the man’s son.  

In an instant, the call became more than a crash investigation. It became about helping a father through the worst moment of his life.   

It was the first fatal crash Geiger had gone to alone and the experience stayed with him. He still sees crosses along the roadside marking crashes he once worked.  

“I know that family members will never forget that person who died in that crash, and that’s why that cross is there.”  

Those memories continue to shape the message he gives troopers today: the work matters because preventing one crash can spare another family from experiencing that kind of loss.  

The people who shaped him  

The road taught Geiger the job. His uncle showed him what a State Patrol career could look like. Along the way, mentors and fellow troopers shaped not only the leader he became, but also the person behind the badge.   

Eventually, he passed those lessons on to others.  

For Geiger, one of the greatest measures of a career is seeing someone he helped develop succeed. But when he looks back, he recognizes that his own journey was never his alone.  

“Every event that I’ve been on, everything that’s probably made the news, everything that’s been out there — there have been other people there,” Geiger said. “I didn’t do any of this by myself.”  

Those people were there for the difficult moments, the long days and the experiences that brought both laughter and tears. They shared the work, the challenges and the memories.   

Now, as retirement is no longer some distant date on the calendar, he is reaching back out to many of them — saying thank you, reconnecting and recognizing the role they played in his career. 

That includes his family, who adapted to the early morning calls, long shifts and plans that could change in an instant.  

“You get called out at three in the morning, and you have to go out there and you’re going to be out there for the next 12 hours, because there’s a snowstorm,” Geiger said. “Sometimes it’s just very humbling to me, and I’m very appreciative for what they do.”  

What badge 438 carries   

When Charlie Geiger retired, Jeremy took over his uncle’s badge.  

At Charlie’s retirement ceremony, he told Jeremy how proud he was of the person and trooper he had become — and reminded him of the responsibility that came with carrying on the Geiger name and badge number. 

That sense of responsibility is part of why, even in retirement, Geiger is not walking away from the State Patrol entirely. He will return part time as a contractor to help finish the State Patrol’s new headquarters, expected to open in 2028.  

“I want to see this to the end, and I want to see people move into that thing. And I think that will really tie a bow on this career.”  

The badge, though, will continue.  

For 55 years, SP438 belonged to a Geiger — first Charlie, then Jeremy. Soon, it will belong to someone new.  

“I just hope the next person takes the time to look at the history of their badge. And maybe that will motivate them in some form or fashion.”  

Because badge 438 was never just a number.  

It was something passed down.  

A name. A standard. A history.  

A legacy that will continue long after Geiger hangs up the uniform.  

Learn how you can make a difference and join the State Patrol on our State Patrol career paths webpage.