Feb. 24—Greensburg has suspended a veteran police officer as it seeks outside help to select a permanent successor for its former police chief, who is charged with federal drug crimes.

City solicitor Zachary Kansler said Friday that patrol Officer Regina McAtee, who has been with the department for more than 19 years, has been suspended without pay for five months — until her retirement July 15.

Citing the police department policy manual, Kansler said city officials "cannot detail the basis for this employee's discipline," which began with McAtee being placed on desk duty.

McAtee could not be reached for comment.

At the same time, the city has decided to beef up security in the police evidence room and is preparing for an audit of police department procedures, Kansler said in a statement he issued on behalf of the mayor and council.

Councilman Randy Finfrock also declined to specify the reason for the suspension.

"It's a personal personnel issue, not something that affects the community," Finfrock said.

McAtee's suspension doesn't impact any of the department's cases or investigations, Kansler said.

Finfrock said the issue involved with the suspension doesn't equate to the level of seriousness involved in the alleged activities of former police Chief Shawn Denning. Finfrock noted Denning resigned after he was arrested at City Hall on Jan. 24 on federal drug charges, while the suspended officer was allowed to stay in place at the department, initially assigned to desk duty.

Finfrock said he doesn't believe there is a connection between the suspension and the case against Denning.

City officials haven't claimed a direct connection. Kansler indicated McAtee's suspension is an outgrowth of an investigation of Greensburg police the city began after Denning's arrest.

Denning, 41, of Delmont is accused of acting as a go-between for interstate drug deals that were part of a sting operation carried out by the Drug Enforcement Administration. He is charged with two counts of aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine and three counts of aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine, according to a complaint filed by the DEA in federal court in Pittsburgh.

Denning is free on $250,000 unsecured bond as prosecutors have been given an extension until April 24 to file a related indictment against him. Denning waived a normal 30-day deadline for that filing to occur, according to court documents.

His Pittsburgh attorney, Steven Townsend, has said the charges aren't "reflective of Mr. Denning's character or his history as a law enforcement officer."

Kansler said Greensburg's police department, elected officials and city staff "were shocked upon learning of the federal arrest of the former chief. We have all spent countless hours asking what exactly happened, how and why it happened and how it was kept secret. While we may never know the answers to some of the questions, we are endeavoring to learn as much as we can and to address what we have learned."

Outside help sought

At the city's request, Kansler said, Westmoreland County detectives conducted an audit of the police evidence room.

"It was conducted because we wanted to ensure that the evidence room was in good order, given what has transpired," Kansler said, saying "no issues were reported" as a result of the audit.

He added, "An internal review of our evidence procedures resulted in the decision to take additional security measures by installing security cameras in the evidence room to ensure strict compliance with all custody policies."

No evidence was found to be missing, Finfrock said.

Kansler said the city has conducted interviews in its search for a third party to help in selecting a new police chief and a third party to conduct a wider audit of the police department that would "assess the policies, procedures and current state of the department" and "make recommendations to address any observed issues."

He said city council hopes at its March 13 meeting to approve an agreement with a chief selection consultant who would "accept and screen applications, interview candidates and provide their professional analysis of the candidates to mayor and council."

He said the police audit would begin "when administratively feasible."

Finfrock said he thinks "the department is fine, but, if we can improve our procedures, that's what we should do."

Since Denning's departure and the suspension, Greensburg's police force is down by two from its normal complement of 27 officers. Finfrock said the city might weigh resulting police overtime hours as it decides how soon to act on hiring two replacement officers.

"At time-and-a-half (pay), that overtime workload is not cheap," Finfrock said.

Council retroactively approved Captain Donald Sarsfield to take on the duties of interim police chief.

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .