PITTSBURGH -- The man who was Pittsburgh's police chief when Mayor Luke Ravenstahl had his run-in with a police officer is raising new questions about how the case was handled.

Robert McNeilly said the alleged behavior of both the former councilman and the officer should have gotten closer scrutiny.

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl played host at a trouble-free tailgate party last fall, but now, there's more controversy over then-councilman Ravenstahl's October 2005 clash with a Pittsburgh police officer that resulted in Ravenstahl being detained, then released, at Heinz Field.

"Admits to drinking with several of his friends. Becomes argumentative with a police officer. Using vulgarity towards a police officer. Led away in handcuffs," said McNeilly. "How many 25-year-old young men who have been drinking, who were just vulgar with the police and shouting at the police, would be un-handcuffed and released?"

McNeilly, who is currently Elizabeth Township's police chief, said there should have been police documentation of what happened, but there's not.

McNeilly said it's unusual that word didn't go straight to him as top police brass.

"Absolutely," said McNeilly. "Anybody who knows anything about police work knows when something out of the ordinary like that happens, the first thing that you do is you notify your supervisor. Obviously some supervisor knew about this, and it should have gone its way up the chain of command."

Police Union President Jim Malloy said it's an officer's discretion as to how to deal with such incidents, and he compares the incident to when an officer makes a traffic stop.

"He doesn't write up a warning slip. Doesn't log it on a piece of paper somewhere, and you go on your way," said Malloy.

Officer Mark Hoehn was the officer who cuffed Ravenstahl.

"As the mayor says, we shook hands," said Hoehn. "I told him it was over. As far I'm concerned, it's over. I'm not doing interviews. According to regulations, we're not supposed to talk to the media."

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