Attorney to mayor: apologize for calling an officer a ‘criminal’

Mayor Amer Ghalib

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck police investigator Dave Adamczyk is now threatening a defamation lawsuit against the mayor.
In a recent city council meeting, Mayor Amer Ghalib said that Adamczyk had committed a crime while serving as an officer here several years ago.
Adamczyk resigned from the department back then, but he was never charged nor convicted of a crime.
Talking about Adamczyk, Ghalib said at a recent council meeting:
“When you bring somebody back and you know that he has a criminal history, and you know that they come back to just get our resources. …
“A person comes back and starts recording his boss from day one, why? Why would you keep recording people? So you can catch something to start a Whistleblower initiative that you are used to? Easy money. This is going to change. No person with a criminal background will be hired again.”
Ghalib has been critical of Adamczyk for secretly recording Police Chief Jamiel Altaheri, recordings which have led to the chief being put on paid administrative leave while the FBI investigates whether the chief violated any laws.

Adamczyk’s attorney, Jonathon Marko, sent the council an email a couple of weeks ago, demanding the mayor “cease and desist” from calling Adamczyk a criminal, and publish a written apology on the city’s website, as well as verbally apologize by the next council meeting.
In his email to the council, attorney Marko said that Ghalib’s accusations were made with “malice … despite knowledge of their falsity or reckless disregard of the truth. The accusation has already damaged officer Adamczyk’s personal and professional reputation and lacks any factual or legal foundation.”
Marko did not elaborate on what “personal and professional” damage has been caused by Mayor Ghalib’s comment.
Marko continued, saying the accusation “serves only to harass and intimidate.”
Mayor Ghalib did not respond after Marko’s email was read out loud, but City Attorney Odey Meroueh replied, saying:
“We deny those allegations and we will deal with them in due time.”
Adamczyk was placed on paid suspension by City Manager Max Garbarino after Chief Altaheri was suspended, saying that suspension was routine for any city in order to protect Adamczyk from retribution.
After Garbarino put Altaheri on paid suspension, the mayor and city council placed Garbarino on paid suspension while an internal investigation continues about the police chief’s allegation that Garbarino committed wrongdoing.
Adamczyk is also under internal investigation for alleged wrongdoing, an accusation also leveled by the police chief.
Garbarino has said that Altaheri’s accusations are false and made in an attempt to smear him and Adamczyk.
Altaheri has also denied he committed wrongdoing, and invited an investigation into the allegations.
Both Garbarino and Adamczyk have filed Whistleblower Protection Act lawsuits against the mayor and city council.
Posted July 3, 2025