A union has announced a majority of Margate police officers cast ballots expressing they have “no confidence” in Police Chief Joseph Galaska — just days after an investigation concluded the top cop’s conduct in past text messages posed “a liability.”
The recent vote reflects the Margate police department’s morale, said Rod Skirvin, president of the Broward County Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents the agency’s officers.
“The members are reaching out for help to the commissioners for immediate action,” Skirvin said. “They have the power to make the change.” He said the rank-and-file and command staff “feel that the environment has become toxic and unhealthy and oppressive and are calling for an immediate change at the top of the organization.”
The question posed to the department: “Have you lost confidence in Chief Galaska’s ability to properly lead the Margate Police Department?”
On Wednesday, the second day of voting, 53 officers and sergeants voted yes, or 73% of the vote, compared with 19 “no” votes, Skirvin said. Twenty-two officers and sergeants did not cast a vote.
On Tuesday, the first day of voting, six lieutenants voted yes, and one voted no.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel couldn’t reach Police Chief Joseph Galaska for comment despite attempts by email or cellphone.
The recently released investigation determined there is “concern regarding potential gender bias” within the agency and “sufficient circumstantial evidence to substantiate (a) claim of harassment and hostile work environment.”
The investigation’s report, conducted by an attorney hired by the city, finds that text messages between Galaska and a sergeant, who is a friend, show the chief writing about a female lieutenant, “I will never ever make her a major.”
“She is not the future,” he wrote, according to the report.
In December, Margate hired a law firm to conduct the third-party investigation regarding the lieutenant’s complaint against Galaska, in which the lieutenant alleged the chief’s texts inferred she engaged in a sex act with another former lieutenant “to advance her career,” the report says. The investigation states the woman and a former employee had a relationship more than 16 years ago, and the former employee did not have any supervisory authority over the female lieutenant.
In addition, a female sergeant alleged she was denied a promotion to lieutenant because she is female. The texts happened just once. But “the humiliating nature of the message and the unreasonable interference with (the lieutenant’s) supervisory authority outweighs the frequency,” the investigator wrote. “Chief Galaska’s conduct ultimately creates potential liability for the City in the future.”
The union vote’s results were set to be delivered to the city manager Thursday, Skirvin said.
The vote comes before the Margate City Commission addresses the outcome of the investigation. The commission has the authority to hire, fire, suspend or call for an additional investigation into the police chief. In separate interviews with the Sun Sentinel last week, two city commissioners said they were in favor of termination, but the other three commissioners said they did not want the chief fired over the texts.
The vote results further bolster Commissioner Antonio Arserio’s previous claims that he’ll be proposing action at a commission meeting scheduled for Wednesday, which could include termination, if the chief doesn’t take action himself: “In light of this vote of no confidence, it further supports him resigning,” he said.
Mayor Tommy Ruzzano dismissed the results, saying Galaska does not deserve to be ousted, and theorized the second day of voting was influenced by the first string of results. “Once you see what the lieutenants are going to do, the other guys follow,” he said.
Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com. Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash