Hamtramck hires New York veteran as police chief, first minority to lead department

**Airforceguy** · February-12-24, 06:55 PM

Hamtramck has hired as its new police chief a veteran of the New York City Police Department [[NYPD) who has worked for years on outreach to diverse communities.Jamiel Altaheri, 40, who is currently commanding officer of NYPD's Office of Equity and Inclusion, will be the first minority to lead Hamtramck's police department. A Muslim immigrant from Yemen who arrived in the U.S. at age 4, Altaheri will lead police in a city that has the highest percentage of immigrants among cities in Michigan, many of them Muslim.

He is the co-founder of the NYPD's Muslim Officers Society and a director of the NYPD's Middle East & Turkic Society.

Hamtramck City Council voted unanimously at its Jan. 29 meeting to select Altaheri out of three candidates interviewed. The appointment came after intense debate among residents and city council about diversity and how police officers are promoted. Altaheri is expected to start in about a month or two, said Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib. "After interviewing all the candidates, he turns out to be the one with the highest rank, highest education, most experienced in working with minorities," Ghalib told the Free Press. "So we believed that he would be a great addition to our city, taking into consideration that he understands the culture of the community and he is bilingual [[in English and Arabic), which would help improve communication with the community and build more trust."

https://www.freep.com/story/news/loc...y/72456690007/

**DetBill** · February-12-24, 07:23 PM

This gentleman is probably a very good and appropriate pic for the community, considering it’s ethnic composition now, however, I do hope appointments made in the future reflect that diversity is exactly that, as I know several very long time, Hamtramck citizens have said to me they feel like they’re not being paid attention to at all anymore, that they don’t belong. Hopefully the city council and mayor will strive for a blended group of people to be appointed in the future. Also, but as mentioned, he’s probably an excellent pic for the job, considering it’s importance.