New Eastpointe deputy police chief is no stranger to community, policing

EASTPOINTE — The departure of Eastpointe’s director of public safety isn’t the only change the department is seeing to its leadership.

In a ceremony held June 14, Eastpointe Police Det. Lt. Matthew Hambright was promoted to the role of the department’s deputy police chief. Of three internal applicants who were interviewed and scored by other police chiefs, Hambright scored the highest and was identified as the best candidate for the role, City Manager Mariah Walton said.

Hambright was hired into the department in 2006 after working in Lansing Township. Since then, he’s worked in a multitude of roles within the Eastpointe Police Department, including field training officer, evidence technician and commander of the department’s special response team. Most recently, he was the lieutenant in charge of the detective bureau.

“I grew up in St. Clair Shores and Grosse Pointe Woods, so I’m from the area. I was aware of the community when I came here,” he said. 

“It’s busy. I never wanted to be a police officer to kind of just smile and wave and drive in circles. I like the law enforcement part of it. I like the challenge,” he said.

While Hambright has always liked the law enforcement aspect of the job and the challenges it presents, he also enjoys the additional challenges of formulating relationships within the community.

“For me, the police work and being busy and fighting crime as well as trying to form relationships with the communities, it’s somewhat of a difficult task, but that challenge to me was interesting and something that I wanted to be involved with as a member of our neighborhood watch,” he said. “As I’ve always been a police officer, I learned that you have to formulate a relationship with the community in order to be effective as a police agency or police officer in general.”

He plans to strengthen this relationship with the community by holding officers accountable and encouraging transparency, he said.

In the short term, Hambright said he wants to focus on enhancing the relationships between the officers within the department and encouraging more of a family atmosphere.

“It’s an important part of doing our job as a police officer to make sure that we are cognizant of the stresses that officers face on a daily basis and making sure that we take officer wellness very seriously,” he said.

Walton said city officials are confident that Hambright will excel in his new position.

“Deputy Chief Hambright has demonstrated a high level of integrity and dedication,” she said in an email. “We’re thankful for his devotion and commitment to the Eastpointe community.”

George Rouhib, who was hired as Eastpointe’s director of public safety in 2018, was recently named chief of police in Rochester. His last official day with Eastpointe will be June 25. At press time, the city had signed former Madison Heights Police Chief Corey Haines to a provisional appointment, which will begin June 30 and will last for 120 days, Walton said. Following the Civil Service Charter, the permanent position of chief will be posted internally to seek qualified applicants, and if needed, it will be posted externally following that, she said.

Walton said if Haines is interested in remaining in the position, he is able to apply for it if it gets posted externally.