Mars Area School District has established a School Police Force made up of two (2) Adams Township police officers and three (3) “school police officers.”

Officers are:

Mike Bordt, an Adams Township Police Officer, holds an associate’s degree in criminal justice and business management.

Bordt has been a member of Adams Township Police Department since 2013. A Mars Area graduate, he lives in Mars with his wife, Kattie, and son, Jamison.

Hank Cacurak, a full-time school police officer, who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and English from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, advanced to the rank of patrol unit corporal within the Pennsylvania State Police.

Cacurak was nominated for 1996 Trooper of the Year and has received several letters of commendation. He also previously served as a deputy sheriff in Armstrong County; as an armed security officer with Protector Security Services; and as a substitute instructor at Lenape Technical School, where he also represented the Law Enforcement Information Technology program as a member of the school’s Occupational Advisory Committee.

He and his wife “Tammy” have five children and two grandchildren.

David P. Fries Jr., a full-time school police officer, is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania State Police Academy.

Fries rose to the rank of corporal with the Pennsylvania State Police, where he served as a collision analysis and reconstruction specialist. He also previously served as a security officer with School Security Professionals; as an independent security professional; and as a field representative at Mueller Reports Inc.

He and his wife, Deena, live in Petrolia.

Daniel G. Herr, a full-time school police officer, advanced to the rank of sergeant at the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Integrity & Professional Standards.

Herr was also a sergeant at Pennsylvania State Police Troop A (Greensburg); and corporal in the Pennsylvania State Police Troop D (Butler) Crime Unit and Patrol Unit. He also previously served as school police officer at South Butler School District and as a security guard at Protector Security.

Gerald K. Markle, a substitute school police officer, previously served as a trooper in the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation (Pittsburgh), Troop D (Butler) Criminal Investigation Unit, Troop D (Kittanning), and Troop E (Franklin).

He was also a school police officer at Butler Area School District; vice president of The Advanced Investigations Group LLC (Butler, Pa.); and a retail sales merchandiser at Quaker Tropicana Gatorade.

Randy Ruediger, an Adams Township Police Officer, holds a bachelor’s degree in emergency management and an associate’s degree in police services.

He has been a member of Adams Township Police Department since 2019. He previously served as sergeant in charge at Middlesex Township Police Department.

In May 2019, Mars Area School Board approved a one-year agreement between the District and Adams Township for the creation of a hybrid school police force. In June, the District received approval from Butler County Court of Common Pleas to establish a school police force, as permitted under Act 44 of 2018.

For more information, call (724) 625-1518.