The lawyer representing the former police chief in Dormont said Thursday that he plans to "vigorously fight" the borough council's decision to demote Phil Ross to sergeant.

"The reasons given for Phil's demotion point to a council that is totally uniformed," said attorney D. Scott Lautner.

Ross received a letter on Feb. 9, giving him 60 days to implement changes, such as having more officers walk a beat and keeping overtime costs down, his attorney said.

Eight days later, borough administrators held a discipline hearing with no council members present, Lautner said.

"Then a (March 7) vote was held to demote him. The absurd thing about this is, the items they wanted fixed were already being implemented," Lautner said.

The lawyer made his comments after the borough issued a statement saying it received "numerous requests" to explain Ross' demotion, but that officials are not permitted to comment because it is a "personnel matter."