CUMBERLAND - City police removed a resident from Tuesday's public meeting after he refused to sit down at the request of the mayor.

The action at City Hall brought protests from others and comments from a second citizen eventually led to the abrupt closure of the meeting. It's the second time in three months that a meeting has ended as such.

Bill Taccino had questioned officials at a previous meeting about vehicle insurance and whether or not the city's policy covered those who took home cars but were not on duty.

Last night, the Pine Avenue resident submitted a letter to City Solicitor Michael Cohen concerning the matter.

Taccino, who also is running for mayor, continued the discussion and specifically questioned the May 11 incident where Kevin Hagerich, the city's director of public works, was charged with driving under the influence while driving a city-owned vehicle off duty.

Mayor Lee Fiedler asked Taccino to sit down and said the issue was a personnel matter and would not be discussed. After a second request, which Taccino did not follow, the mayor asked the officer to remove him.

Carol Cauley, a council candidate who is running as a team with Taccino, spoke up and said officials had no right to remove him and that he was not using abusive or foul language.

"You cannot do this; you're violating his rights," Cauley of Bedford Street said as Taccino was escorted from council chambers.

That was enough for Herb Broll of Pennsylvania Avenue to state that in 25 years, he'd never seen such a tactic and told officials if they didn't want to face the public, they shouldn't run for office.

He then brought up the search for a new police chief and accused officials of making it a political issue. He said the process has dragged on since May 1 when J. Robert Dick officially retired. He also said that he spoke by phone to Fiedler, who told him the new chief would not be Kevin Ogle, the acting chief, or Charles Hinnant, operations supervisor for the county's C3I Unit, another finalist. Those two as well as Edward Guthrie of Pocatello, Idaho, and Nicholas Valltos of Prince George's County have been announced as the final four candidates for the position.

Fiedler said Broll, who called him at home, tried to bribe him by offering to serve on the selection committee and say everything was conducted in a fair manner.

"I told you I didn't want to hear from you and hung up," Fiedler said.

Broll countered that he offered to serve because citizens, including minorities and women, are not represented on the committee. He also gave the mayor a number of opportunities to retract his statement of calling the offer a bribe. Fiedler refused to do so.

"This is not 'The Jerry Springer Show,'" Councilman Terry Rephann said.

Broll then began to verbally attack Rephann at which time Fiedler gaveled the meeting closed.

Others said they wished to speak and had a right to do so, and Broll approached a city police officer and asked that the officials be arrested.

As city officials and staff left City Hall, Cauley and Taccino were on the plaza where Cauley continued to shout that it was a violation of rights for Taccino to be removed and for citizens not to be able to speak.

Maria Smith can be reached at msmith@times-news.com.