More than 50 people crowded Thursday into Mars Public Library to hear 1 &*#189; hours of testimony for Mars Borough police Chief Kevin Radford on what his attorney called 'minor, minor, minor' offenses. Mayor Robin Pittman, though, has penalized Radford nearly a tenth of his yearly earnings. Radford was suspended for 25 days on a charge of insubordination and on a charge for having had an unauthorized person inside his car outside of borough limits. Radford's attorney Mike Colarusso said the charges are minor misunderstandings. Colarusso also represents the Western Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association. Radford said he requested the public hearing to present his side of the story. he is requesting back pay and a reversal of the suspension. 'I don't feel I've done anything wrong,' Radford said. Mars Borough Council went into executive session after the public hearing to discuss reversing the suspension and awarding back pay. The results of the session were not known last night. The majority of those who attended the public meeting were in support of Radford. 'I'm here on Kevin's behalf,' said Mars resident Lou Beckwith. 'The suspensions were way overblown.' Radford said he was aware of the policy forbidding passengers in a patrol car, except on police business. Radford said a police chief has discretion and that having a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review photographer in his car was police business because the chief is responsible for dealing with the media. Radford said he took the photographer to Classic Automotive, which is just outside the borough limits but part of the police patrol loop. Classic Automotive does all the repair work on borough vehicles, and there was a Christmas lunch being held, he said. Council voted Feb. 10 to uphold the suspension, pending last night's hearing. 'Generally, I think they try to do the right thing,' Radford said of the borough council. 'I think they have the best interest of the town at heart.' Pittman said the policies for the police apply to all officers equally. The mayor said Radford also was suspended on a charge of having been insubordinate with a councilman. Radford said the insubordination charge was related to a comment he made to Councilman Gerald Brunson after Brunson released borough crime statistics that Radford said were incorrect. 'I said to him: 'When you use erroneous information, it makes us look like asses,'' Radford said. He said he did not intend the comments to be considered insulting or insubordinate. Brunson said he did not feel threatened, but he felt the remark was confrontational. He said he asked Radford three times to end the conversation. Pittman also suspended Radford in September. Radford said the suspension was made because he did not respond to a letter that the mayor had left for him. Radford is not the first Mars police officer to be suspended. Sgt. Tim Rabenstein, then the officer-in-charge, was suspended for having a civilian passenger in his car in 1998. Pittman said the policy against having passengers in the car for anything other than police business has been in place for years. The mayor said Radford's case has nothing to do with the case involving Rabenstein. Rabenstein resigned in early 1999. Radford was hired in March of that year and was named police chief in June 2000. Radford said the title of police chief, although it did not include a pay raise, enables the borough to be eligible for more grants. Radford's hourly pay is $14.83; he said his pay totals about $32,000 a year. Radford also is a part-time officer for Franklin Township, where he has worked since 1993. The Mars police force has two full-time officers and five part-time officers. Dominick DiRienzo can be reached at ddirienzo@tribweb.com or (724) 779-7124.

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