Major Michael Palma has been named Interim Chief of Police in Margate.
Margate city commissioners on Monday appointed Major Michael Palma as Interim Chief of Police, replacing Joseph Galaska in the department’s top job.
Palma has been with the police department since December 1995. His promotion to interim chief follows Thursday’s move by Galaska to resign after an investigation found Galaska sent inappropriate text messages that subjected a female lieutenant to harassment and a hostile work environment.
According to a biography on Margate’s website, Palma earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice administration from Columbia Southern University and his master’s degree in organizational leadership.
His department roles include patrol officer, field training officer, planning and research officer, master patrol officer, and detective. He was promoted to sergeant in 2004 and lieutenant in 2009, and he served as commander of the Support Services Bureau and the Neighborhood Policing Division.
In 2015, Palma was promoted to captain and was commander of the Investigative Services Bureau, Field Services Bureau, and Support Services Bureau.
Palma is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute’s Command Officers Development School and Nova Southeastern University’s Executive Leadership program., according to the city.
Galaska was selected by the city commission to take the role of Chief of Police in 2022. His predecessor, Jonathan Shaw, was fired in December 2021 after an internal police department investigation found he had sex with a female officer in his assigned vehicle, traded lurid “sexts” and photographs with her, and abandoned his surveillance duties to meet for sex.
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