Palm Beach policeman Thomas Machate named officer of year

Palm Beach Police Chief Kirk W. Blouin, right, presents Thomas Machate with the Officer of the Year award, with Jupiter Police Chief Frank J. Kitzerow looking on.

Little did Palm Beach Police Officer Thomas Machate know that his role in a $2.3 million drug bust would put him front and center before a room full of more than 30 police chiefs a year later.

Machate, a career police officer who has been on the island since July 2000, was named 2009 Police Officer of the Year last week by the Palm Beach County Association of Chiefs of Police.

He was chosen from a field of nine nominees by a three-member committee primarily for his role on a Jan. 11, 2009, seizure of 92 kilograms of cocaine that came into the Palm Beach Inlet from the Bahamas.

Machate, acting on a tip from a confidential informant, positioned himself with members of the department’s Organized Crime, Vice and Narcotics Unit in the drug interdiction. The drug bust led to the seizure of cash and other assets, and the arrest of five subjects for conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States.

South Palm Beach Police Chief Roger Crane served on the committee that picked Machate for the 2009 award.

What moved Machate to the top of the list in Crane’s estimation was the officer’s coordination with the Drug Enforcement Agency and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“He did the interdiction and the surveillance,” Crane noted.

Machate, 42, comes from a long line of New York City police officers. He worked there before coming to Florida to what he thought would be his retirement.

But he joined the Palm Beach police force and did have some second thoughts with a desire to return to New York.

Then-Capt. Kirk Blouin encouraged Machate to stay. And it was Blouin, now Palm Beach’s chief, who nominated him for the award.

Blouin said he saw Machate as “a hard-working, intelligent, professional, street-smart police officer who would be a great fit in the department.”

He also noted Machate “created his own luck” in the drug case and others through his work ethic and ingenuity in cultivating sources within the marine community.

“These things don’t just happen at the local level [of a police department],” Blouin said. “He’s an exceptional officer. We’re fortunate to have him.”

Machate was also recognized for his role in rescuing a kayaker in the Intracoastal Waterway on June 6, 2009.

He shared credit for his success with fellow marine patrol officer Mick Keehan.

“I love him like a brother,” Machate said. “He deserves as much credit as I do.”

Machate received the award, a plaque and $500 at the ceremony at the Abacoa Golf Club in Jupiter.

By Margie Kacoha

LINK