Tanner was only 15 when his father, Weld County Sheriff Deputy Sam Brownlee, was killed in the line of duty during a police car chase in 2010. With what little money he had, Tanner wanted to buy his father's Dodge Charger police cruiser as a keepsake which was being held at a police auction. He was upset when he was outbid, but only for a moment, because the winner of the car who he had never met before walked right up to him and gave him the keys.