Hamtramck city council voted at a meeting on Aug. 26 to terminate city manager Max Garbarino, and the city attorney announced that Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri and an officer also will be terminated based on a report by a Detroit law firm that concluded the three officials engaged in wrongdoing.
The 5-0 vote to fire Garbarino at Tuesday night’s council meeting came a couple of days after Miller Johnson released a 59-page report alleging that Altaheri drove drunk with police officers to a strip club for an officer’s party, among other misdeeds. The report also alleges Garbarino failed to “take timely corrective action with respect to Altaheri,” and that Officer David Adamczyk abused overtime and was involved with a stolen car along with Altaheri.
In a statement sent to the Free Press and other media outlets after the vote, Altaheri said: “Termination is not only unfair to me but also harmful to our city.”
The city council has the authority to fire Garbarino, but not Altaheri and Adamczyk, Mayor Amer Ghalib told the Free Press after the vote Tuesday night.
“The council voted on Max’s removal because it’s within their purview, and the decision to terminate the chief and Dave (Adamczyk) was given to the acting city manager since he is responsible for that,” Ghalib told the Free Press. “If city council votes on removing them, then they would be overstepping their power.”
The council made its decision after going into a closed private session that lasted more than an hour.
At the council meeting, city attorney Odey Meroueh said both Altaheri and Adamczyk will be fired.
“We’ve come to the undeniable conclusion, unfortunately, based on the evidence presented and the conclusions found (in the Miller Johnson report), that we have to terminate the chief of police, Jamiel Altaheri,” Meroueh said. “And we will also be taking action regarding Officer Adamczyk.”
Regarding Adamczyk, Meroueh and Ghalib said the city has to follow the rules of the union contract in terminating him.
“There is something in officer Dave’s contract that said to give him 10 days warning if terminated or something like that, so they will have to follow that process,” Ghalib explained.
At the meeting, Meroueh said that regarding the firing of Adamczyk, “we have to follow the terms of his contract.”
Meroueh told the Free Press in a statement after the vote that “under the City Charter, the Council does not have authority to discipline or remove department heads or employees — that authority rests solely with the City Manager. For that reason, the Council directed the Acting City Manager to take appropriate action regarding the Police Chief and the officer.”
Hamtramck Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri was chosen to lead the Hamtramck department in 2024.
The city council’s action is the latest development involving three cases of alleged corruption in the city. Two city councilmen, Mohammed Kamrul Hassan and Muhtasin Rahman Sadman, who attended and voted at Tuesday’s meeting, were charged earlier this month with voter fraud. In addition, there is a State Police investigation into whether two other city councilmen lied about their residency, with an investigator claiming they lived outside the city.
At the meeting, Diane Elizabeth Frkan, a resident and former Hamtramck city council candidate who lost in the August primary, said she was “deeply concerned” about the misconduct of the city officials.
“I am outraged … our chief of police drove under the influence of alcohol … endangering” lives,” she said. “That incident could have caused serious harm or even loss of life.”
Regarding councilmen Hassan and Sadman, Frkan said, “They should resign or be removed from their positions.”
Altaheri raised questions about due process in his statement on Tuesday.
“Throughout my time as Chief, my priority has always been the safety and well-being of the people of Hamtramck,” the police chief said. “Under my leadership, we have expanded community outreach, built trust with residents and businesses while taking steps to modernize the department. It is unfortunate that these contributions are being overshadowed by a process that disregards due process and fairness.”
He added: “I remain committed to defending my reputation through the legal process and to ensuring that the truth is heard.”
His attorney, Amir Makled, said: “The recommendation made by the Hamtramck City Council tonight, while disheartening, is not surprising, especially given the environment created by former Hamtramck City Manager Max Garbarino, who pursued a campaign of harassment and retribution against Police Chief Altaheri.”
Garbarino and Adamczyk could not be reached for comment. They filed a lawsuit in June against the city alleging anti-white bias.
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com, X @nwarikoo or Facebook @nwarikoo
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Hamtramck city council fires city manager Max Garbarino