article

Former Hamtramck Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri

FOX 2 – The former Hamtramck police chief says he has been offered a role by New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani in his new administration.

The backstory:

Jamiel Altaheri resigned from his role as Hamtramck’s top cop following a string of allegations and chaos during a tumultuous period for the city over the summer. 

Altaheri now tells FOX 2 that the Mamdani administration has contacted him with an offer with the city. The former chief has New York ties, having left a position as the commanding officer of the NYPD’s Office of Equity and Inclusion.

Altaheri declined to provide details to the role he was allegedly offered and the Mamdani Administration has not publicly acknowledged it.

Altaheri is a Muslim immigrant from Yemen and would join the history-making Mamdani administration. Mamdani will be sworn in on Jan. 1 as New York City’s first Muslim mayor and mayor of South Asian descent.

But Altaheri and Hamtramck, are no strangers to controversy. The city itself, is still embroiled in fallout from a contested election in which the mayoral race was decided by 11 votes.

The Hamtramck City Council voted to fire Altaheri along with the city manager and a police special investigator last August after an independent investigation that alleged several misconduct allegations.

According to Altaheri’s attorney Amir Makled, the Hamtramck City Charter does not allow for the council to make that move, even though the council directed the acting city manager to fire him.

As a result, the city parted ways with Altaheri with his resignation, including a five-month severance. 

Hamtramck hired Miller Johnson attorneys to perform an independent probe, which alleged incidents of misconduct by Altaheri.

Dig deeper:

The investigation found that Altaheri allegedly destroyed evidence by wiping his city phone, drove his city vehicle while intoxicated, misused his police lights to run red lights, and at one point even handed a loaded gun to a civilian volunteer, allegedly instructing the volunteer to point it at someone’s head.

Makled issued a statement regarding the allegations:

“My client (Altaheri) is grateful for his time in Hamtramck as Police Chief even as his reputation was wrongly sullied by recrimination and innuendo,” he said. “Furthermore, Mr. Altaheri is proud of his accomplishments and the relationships he fostered with Hamtramck residents and businesses.”

HamtramckNew York