Jamiel Altaheri, the former police chief of Hamtramck, Michigan – the first Muslim-majority city in the US – has resigned after just one day in a new, high-profile role overseeing hospital police for New York City Health and Hospitals under Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The 43-year-old, who spent 20 years with the NYPD before leading the Michigan force, quit after being confronted with allegations from an explosive lawsuit, including claims he beat his wife and pulled out one of her fingernails amid suspicions of an affair, and that he tried to buy a presidential pardon from Donald Trump worth up to $5 million for an unnamed friend. Altaheri denies the allegations as "baseless" and "old news", blaming what he called Islamophobia for spreading "false narratives".

The claims originate from a lawsuit filed in June 2025 by Hamtramck's former city manager Max Garbarino and special investigator David Adamczyk, who allege they were dismissed for planning to expose the misconduct; the lawsuit also names five city council members and former mayor Amer Ghalib. Adamczyk further alleges Altaheri instructed subordinates not to formally document the alleged domestic violence. Altaheri left Hamtramck last autumn under a settlement giving him five months' severance pay, framed as a voluntary resignation, and says he received an apology from the mayor and council; he maintains he modernised the department and diversified its hiring during his tenure.