A new investigative report found that Hamtramck Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri and Special Investigator David Adamczyk engaged in "significant" misconduct warranting termination.

The 59-page report, obtained by CBS News Detroit, was completed by Miller Johnson Attorneys, which were hired by the city to investigate Altaheri, Adamczyk and City Manager Max Garbarino. The law firm says it interviewed all three men and obtained more than 670,000 documents, conducted 40 witness interviews, and reviewed cell phones, hard drives and videos.  

This comes after Garbarino suspended Altaheri and Adamczyk in May 2025, pending an investigation into allegations that Altaheri had abused his power. At the time, Garbarino said he received credible evidence of serious allegations involving city leaders. The city council then voted to put Garbarino on leave, which Garbarino claimed was retaliatory.

In June 2025, Adamczyk and Garbarino filed a lawsuit, alleging corruption and retaliation by Altaheri and other city leaders. The lawsuit stated that Altaheri was placed on leave after Adamczyk reported misconduct to Garbarino, and Adamczyk was placed on leave "to protect him from further retaliation from defendants, and to safeguard the integrity of the investigation."

The Hamtramck City Council will have its regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

CBS News Detroit contacted Adamczyk, Altaheri, Garbarino and Ghalib for comment on Monday.

Garbarino's attorney, Jon Marko, calls the report an act of retaliation for the lawsuit that was filed on his client's behalf.

"He knew there was going to be ramifications, but it was the right thing to do. He put himself out there when he filed this whistleblower lawsuit to shed light on this corruption within the city of Hamtramck," Marko told CBS News Detroit.

Altaheri's attorney, Amir Makled, issued the following statement on his behalf:

"I have become aware of the confidential report released today regarding the recent internal investigation regarding the City of Hamtramck and the Hamtramck Police Department.

"While I strongly dispute many of the conclusions drawn within it, I recognize that this has been a difficult time for our city and our police department. As Police Chief, I have always worked to build stronger ties between our officers and the community we serve. Under my leadership, we have expanded community outreach, modernized operations of the department, and made important strides in public safety. It is unfortunate that these positive contributions are absent from the report.

"I also understand the seriousness of the concerns raised. I am committed to working with the Mayor, City Council, and the City's legal team to address those concerns in a way that strengthens our department and the city we serve with pride and honor. I believe that accountability and fairness must go hand in hand. Out of respect for the process, I will not comment further on the details of the investigation at this time as to allow the legal process to fully work for all involved.

"My focus remains on serving the people of Hamtramck with integrity, ensuring stability within the department and restoring the trust that is vital to effective policing. I ask the public to withhold judgment until all facts are fairly considered, and due process is completed."

On Tuesday, Makled says that the release of the confidential report should not have happened.

"That's not appropriate, and that puts you in a position where you have more causes of action against the city. No individual who works for a municipality should be subjected to this type of treatment," he told CBS News Detroit.

The report found that Altaheri asked an evidence technician to wipe his phone shortly after he was suspended, drove a city-issued vehicle while intoxicated and allegedly gave a loaded gun to a civilian and instructed her to point it at someone, and pressured officers to help in a custody dispute. The report could not confirm allegations that Altaheri was involved in a domestic violence incident or asked officers to cover it up.

The report found that Adamczyk recorded other officers without their knowledge to gain leverage, leaked information about misconduct allegations against Altaheri in an attempt to get a promotion, and submitted overtime hours that he did not work.

The report found that both Altaheri and Adamczyk were involved in the improper recovery of a Mercedes-Benz that was reported stolen and attempted to transport it to New York to one of Altaheri's friends.

The report found that Garbarino had every right to put Altaheri and Adamczyk on leave, but he failed to act quickly in suspending them after learning of their alleged misconduct months before.

"Some initial delay in acting on the allegations might have been warranted, given the involvement of law enforcement and that the allegations were so unusual and explosive that it was reasonable for Garbarino to be concerned (as he told Miller Johnson) that they might tarnish Altaheri's reputation unfairly if they quickly proved false," read the report. "But it soon became apparent, well before May 21, 2025, that the dueling allegations between Altaheri and Adamczyk were serious, had become widely known, and were undermining the effective operation of City government."

Findings on Garbarino in the report

According to the report, the law firm's investigation "did not substantiate the initial allegations" that Garbarino used police sources for improper use or accessed private records. The report also did not find evidence suggesting that Garbarino's attendance at the June 10 city council meeting after his suspension violated laws and policies. 

However, the report concluded that he had poor judgment as a city manager and influenced Altaheri to hire Adamczyk as a favor due to their personal relationship. In his interview with Miller Johnson, Garbarino downplayed his role in Altaheri's hiring of Adamczyk and claimed he simply introduced the two men, according to the report.

The report concluded that Garbarino's inactions warrant a termination, but it "may carry heightened litigation risk due to his whistleblower claims."  

Findings on Altaheri in the report

The report states that during his interview with Miller Johnson, Altaheri admitted to instructing an evidence technician to wipe his city-issued phone, but claimed that it was because he had "personal stuff" on the phone. The report concluded that Altaheri "had no right or justification to erase all of the data" from the phone.

The report found that in September 2024, Altaheri drove his city-issued truck while intoxicated and even turned on his emergency lights as he drove through a red light and quickly turned them off. 

Miller Johnson obtained video of the alleged incident that was taken by an officer, concluding that "Altaheri was similarly not credible in claiming during his interview that if he drove through red lights with his police lights on, he had a legitimate reason for doing so, such as possibly responding to a call. The video evidence contradicts Altaheri account."

The report found that Altaheri became upset when he learned an officer had a recording of him. The report found that when the officer who had the video was under investigation for timecard fraud, Altaheri intended to terminate him. However, during a disciplinary hearing, he instead imposed a 30-day suspension in exchange for deleting the video. The report found that Altaheri agreed to the month-long suspension after having an off-the-record conversation with officers in the hallway at the hearing.

"The weight of this evidence substantiates the allegation that Altaheri refrained from terminating the officer because Altaheri was concerned about the officer releasing the video of his driving and wanted the officer to destroy that evidence," read the report.

The report added that "Altaheri's comment during that off-the-record conversation demonstrated that the video was still front of mind for him, and the abrupt change in his decision, immediately following that comment, demonstrated that the video was a motivating factor in that decision."

The report also found that Altaheri gave a loaded gun to a civilian volunteer and instructed her to point it at the owner of an eyeglasses store and demand frames. According to the report, Adamczyk recorded the April 2025 incident, and it was later shared online.

Another officer, who was in the room at the time of the incident, told Miller Johnson that he asked Altaheri if the gun was loaded, and he said it was, and the officer quickly took the gun away, according to the report. In an interview with the law firm, Altaheri claimed the incident was a "preplanned joke" that was suggested by Adamczyk and that he had unloaded the gun before the volunteer walked in.

Findings on Adamczyk in the report

The report found that Adamczyk leaked information about alleged misconduct by Altaheri "to pressure Altaheri into promoting him" as sergeant. Adamczyk denied that claim during his interview with Miller Johnson. According to the report, Adamczyk was told to maintain confidentiality after reporting the allegations to the FBI and Michigan State Police; however, he told at least five other officers and eventually told Altaheri that he "turned him in."

"Adamczyk's decision to disclose those allegations widely to other HPD officers similarly supports the conclusion that Adamczyk had ulterior motives. Adamczyk was an experienced investigator, or at least claimed to be, and he knew the importance of keeping those allegations confidential so that outside law enforcement could investigate them properly," read the report. "So if he had been serious about investigating the allegations, as he claims, he would not have acted as he did. He would instead have allowed the FBI and Michigan State Police to investigate covertly, perhaps using him as a source."

In addition, the report found that Adamczyk committed timecard fraud when he submitted overtime hours that he did not work. GPS location data obtained by Miller Johnson showed inconsistencies with Adamczyk claiming he worked nine hours overtime on one occasion for the Detroit Police Department's Commercial Auto Theft Section. According to the report, Wayne County officials confirmed that Adamczyk did not work virtually for them.

The report did not find evidence to support allegations that Adamczyk gained unauthorized access to sensitive information or that he suggested to an officer to commit insurance fraud.