He takes the big SUV so he can haul his friends to a concert. When he brings it back, it's a mess inside. When somebody tells on him, his friend tries to get the whistle-blower in trouble.

This might sound like your 17-year-old son, but, Pittsburgh, this is your 27-year-old mayor. It's bad enough that Luke Ravenstahl has no intention of behaving like a high-ranking municipal official. What's worse is the judgment displayed by his police chief, Nate Harper, a veteran officer who blew it when he tried to handle this situation.

The mayor gets a city car for use at all times, and a Pittsburgh police officer often accompanies him, doubling as security and driver. Usually, the mayor uses a black Chevy Impala, unless that car is in for service or he needs a larger one. The Post-Gazette's Rich Lord reported Wednesday that the mayor has used a GMC Yukon, purchased for the Police Bureau with Homeland Security funds, a couple of times, including in August to take his wife and some friends to the Toby Keith concert at the Post-Gazette Pavilion in Washington County.

That federal money comes with strings attached (the U.S. attorney has decided to examine the case), and police Sgt. Mona Wallace believed that meant its use is restricted to city police business. She complained to Michael Huss, who at the time was the fire chief and part-time public safety director. That got her in trouble with Chief Harper, who issued a reprimand, which Mr. Huss then rescinded.

It's been only seven months since the free-speech rights of city officers were upheld in a case in which the city had to pay police Cmdr. Catherine McNeilly $85,000. Chief Harper had demoted her after she made allegations of misconduct against former city Operations Director Dennis Regan. You'd think the chief would remember such an expensive lesson.

You'd also think Chief Harper, who says he's the one who selected cars for use by the mayor, would know which police vehicles should have been off limits.

As for the mayor, he just hasn't learned. Here's what he said yesterday: "I'm still going to continue to be who I'm going to be, and go to concerts like I always have, and go to have a drink with my wife in bars. That's what 27-year-olds do and I shouldn't be any different ... I'm not going to change my life to appease the media or appease somebody who wants me to be somebody I'm not."

That's fine up to a point -- the point at which he needs to conduct himself as Pittsburgh's mayor -- and that was Sept. 1, 2006, the day Bob O'Connor died.

The only good news in this story was the response of Mr. Huss, whom the mayor recently promoted to be his full-time public safety director. He did the right thing in rescinding Sgt. Wallace's reprimand.