John Annese
New York Daily News
NEW YORK CITY — The longtime head of the city police detectives union is calling it a career.
Michael Palladino, a 40-year NYPD veteran, said he’s putting in his retirement papers Monday morning, and will resign as president of the Detectives Endowment Association in January.
“When I walked into the Police Academy in 1979, I never imagined that my retirement announcement would generate media coverage. So it’s very humbling and moving,” he said. “My inner desire is to help people and make a difference, and that’s what also drew me to the union business.”
A Bronx native, Palladino spent much of his career in the 43rd and 52nd Precincts in the Bronx, and survived two shootouts in 1982. He started his union work after joining the 52nd Precinct Detective Squad, and who earned his gold detective’s shield in 1987.
He rose the union’s ranks, and became its president in 2004.
Palladino, who turns 62 in January, would have faced mandatory retirement on his 63rd birthday. He plans to do consulting work for Brosnan Risk Consultants in Rockland County, and serve as president of the National Police Defense Foundation.
Paul Digiacomo, the union’s vice president, will serve the rest of Palladino’s term until elections next spring.
“For the DEA and all police unions, there are some big challenges ahead,” Palladino said. “If law enforcement officers ever needed a union, it’s in today’s climate where cops have been demonized and criminals are glorified.”