Al-Taheri receives $52,000 severance after city investigation linked him to corruption, domestic violence and abuse of authority

HAMTRAMCK — Under a legal settlement with the city, Police Chief Jamil Al-Taheri has voluntarily resigned from his position in exchange for a $52,000 severance payment, following nearly two months of suspension and a City Council recommendation to terminate his employment after an independent investigation accused him of corruption, domestic violence and abuse of power — including driving under the influence and evidence tampering.

$52,000 payout under a settlement agreement

In a press statement issued on October 22, the law firm Makled Law, PLLC, which represented Al-Taheri, confirmed that its client reached a settlement allowing him to resign voluntarily in exchange for a severance package equal to five months of his annual salary of $125,000.

The agreement came instead of a formal firing from the job he had held since February 2024, when he was hired from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) to lead Hamtramck’s police force.

According to the statement, received by The Arab American News, the city must pay the severance within 14 days and record officially that “Chief Al-Taheri’s resignation was voluntary and not tied to any disciplinary action.”

From suspension to settlement

In late August, the Hamtramck City Council referred the question of Al-Taheri’s termination to the city administration, noting that his case — unlike that of  former City Manager Max Garbarino, who was fired outright — was subject to union contract procedures that required due process to avoid potential litigation.

The same process applied to Officer David Adamczyk, the third party in the internal controversy that shook City Hall with mutual accusations and leaks.

According to Makled Law’s statement, the settlement was designed to “resolve all disputes between former Hamtramck Police Chief Jamil Al-Taheri, the city of Hamtramck, former City Manager Max Garbarino and Officer David Adamczyk in an amicable manner.”

The aim, the statement said, was to avoid “the time, costs and uncertainty of continued litigation” and reach “a final and comprehensive resolution.”

“This case was nothing more than administrative chaos stirred up by former City Manager Max Garbarino,” said attorney Amir Makled.

Claims of character assassination

The statement described the Al-Taheri affair as the result of “administrative disorder” created by Garbarino, who was himself dismissed by the Council.

It said Al-Taheri was “leaving his position peacefully and with his good reputation intact after having been unjustly defamed in some media outlets.”

The statement highlighted several of Al-Taheri’s initiatives during his short tenure as chief, including:

• Modernizing the police uniform design and logo

• Implementing a crime pattern analysis system

• Establishing the city’s first Police Youth Academy and first Citizens’ Police Academy

• Appointing both a Catholic chaplain and a Muslim imam as department advisers

• Creating a special traffic enforcement unit

• Increasing diversity by hiring African American officers

• Launching multiple community-service programs for needy families

“Mr. Garbarino chose to turn this into a media spectacle,” Makled said. “Calm discussion could have resolved it quietly.”

Makled emphasized that the Hamtramck City Charter does not authorize the City Council to fire the police chief directly because of the collective bargaining agreement with the police union.

“Chief Al-Taheri was never formally terminated,” he said, blaming Garbarino for “fueling the uproar” over the issue.

Sharp response from Garbarino’s attorney

In response, Reno Arabo, attorney for Garbarino, dismissed Makled’s statements as “ridiculous.”

“This entire case began because of Chief Al-Taheri’s dangerous and troubling conduct,” Arabo said in a statement. “Garbarino was legally obligated to report that behavior, and that’s what moved the process forward — nothing else.

“Allowing him to resign officially does not change why he was fired,” Arabo added. “A negotiated exit does not rewrite history or erase the events that led to his dismissal.”

He said the findings of the independent investigation conducted by Miller Johnson Law Firm “speak for themselves.”

Related lawsuits continue

It is worth noting that both Garbarino and former Hamtramck police officer David Adamczyk have filed lawsuits against the city, alleging that Al-Taheri and other city officials retaliated against them for exposing corruption within the police department.

“This is not over,” Arabo said. “Our clients will continue to pursue justice in court.”

Summary

Al-Taheri’s resignation closes one chapter in a months-long leadership crisis that exposed deep divisions inside Hamtramck City Hall and its police department. While the settlement spares the city further legal costs, it leaves lingering questions about accountability, oversight and the political fallout from one of the most turbulent scandals in Hamtramck’s recent history.