Major Thomas Palmer

County Critical Infrastructure

Major Thomas Palmer began his career with the Broward Sheriff's Office in October 1996 as a civil deputy, and he transferred to the Department of Law Enforcement, South Broward District in 1999. He has worked in various areas including road patrol, Field Force, Field Training Officer, Neighborhood Response Team and Criminal Investigations as a detective in the Aggravated Felonies Unit. Major Palmer was promoted to sergeant in January 2003 and was assigned to the Deerfield Beach district and Lauderdale by the Sea district, where he served as the supervisor for those respective Criminal Investigation units. Additionally, Major Palmer was assigned to the Division of Internal Affairs and Public Corruption and then went on to be promoted to lieutenant in September 2013 and became the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea district executive officer.

In October 2016, Major Palmer was promoted to captain and continued to serve the Lauderdale-by-the-Sea district. He was promoted to major in December 2023 and currently oversees Broward County Critical Infrastructure which consists of the Hollywood/Fort Lauderdale International Airport, the Broward County Courthouses, Port Everglades, Civil Division, Burglary Apprehension Team and Special Details Unit.

Major Palmer holds a bachelor's and master's degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies from Florida Atlantic University. He is a graduate of the Broward Sheriff's Office Executive Leadership Program at Nova Southeastern University as well as a graduate of the Florida Sheriff's Association Commander's Academy Class #7 in Tallahassee, FL.