Palmer Police Chief Remaley to retire after long service career

PALMER — Palmer Police Chief Thomas Remaley will retire from his position later this month, according to city and Palmer Police Department officials.

Close observers of department staffing could perhaps be forgiven for feeling some déjà vu. Remaley was the department’s commander until his promotion to chief in 2012. And his replacement is current commander Lance Ketterling, who will in turn likely be replaced by a promoted sergeant, Ketterling said.

Eventually the department might open up an entry-level position, he said.

“That’s how our promotion process works,” Ketterling said.

Ketterling is an 18-year-veteran of the department.

Remaley declined to comment for this story, but city officials released a short profile of his second career. The outgoing chief was a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army, from which he retired in 1992, prior to joining the department as a radio dispatcher. Remaley was promoted to lieutenant in 2005, the department’s first since 1983.

Remaley is a native of Battle Creek, Michigan, and attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

He leaves the department after 22 years.

In the city’s profile, Palmer residents praised Remaley for his years of service.

“Tom has been a great asset to the city,” said Mayor DeLena Johnson. “We will be sorry to lose him.”

The promotion comes as Palmer Public Safety Director Jon Owen departed in January for a job with the North Slope Borough Police Department, meaning Ketterling will assume not just a new job, but a fundamentally new structure for the department, as well as new state regulations regarding marijuana use.

The sheer number of transitions might appear overwhelming, but Ketterling says he’s received lots of help.

His first priority is to turn officers into a known quantity, he said.

“I want to get the officers out in the community as much as possible and try to figure their needs out,” he said.

The second issue is marijuana, though Ketterling said he doesn’t anticipate much difficulty balancing personal liberty and the need for public safety.

“We’ll be able to work through those without much trouble,” he said.

The chief helps administer a $3.922-million budget, and supervises 13 sworn officers, as well as one of two Valley dispatch centers. Ketterling isn’t intimidated.

“I think the people that have come before me have been really good about helping me out,” he said. “The city manager and I have worked very well together. All the other city directors have been very, very helpful.”

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269, brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com, or on Twitter @reporterbriano.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described the promotion process. The Palmer Police Department has no lieutenant positions.