By Charles Sercombe
More details have emerged about an encounter a Yemeni immigrant had with a Hamtramck police officer.
The Review asked Police Chief Anne Moise for follow-up information about the matter, and she agreed to address some issues.
Nasser Almasmari recently went to a city council meeting to complain about the treatment he and his family received during a traffic incident. He claimed that he, his four children and 8-months-pregnant wife were forced to walk about a half mile home during a bitter cold day on Jan. 3 after his car was impounded.
According to the police department’s daily incident report, he was pulled over for having a fraudulent license plate tab and no proof of insurance. In her response to The Review, Moise declined to get into specifics of the traffic matter.
Moise did agree to discuss what happened after tickets were issued. She said Almasmari’s family was not forced to walk home, which was only 8 houses away from where they were pulled over.
Here is Moise’s email:
“Situations can usually be handled in different ways, however, the officer had to make a decision at the time with the information he had available. He took potential liability into consideration including placing several people, including children, in the back seat of his police car without proper safety restraints including car seats available.
“The family was not made to stand outside the vehicle during the traffic stop. They remained in the vehicle until the end.
“The officer did allow the family to call for a ride, which did not arrive before the adults in the family made the decision to walk home.
“Their residence was located approximately 8 houses from the location of the stop to the residence. They even advised the officer of this when they advised him they were going to walk.”
Moise also said that a meeting with Almasmari had been scheduled, but he cancelled one hour before the appointment.
“I have asked to reschedule the meeting, however I have not heard back from him regarding this,” Moise said.
Moise added that she did meet with members of the Yemeni American Leadership Association and discussed “issues regarding diversity and building bridges in the community.”