Fox Chapel Police Chief Michael Stevens is stepping down from his top law enforcement post to take up another calling.

Stevens, 59, has retired from the borough force to become the regional supervisor of the Diocese of Pittsburgh’s Eastern Region.

He will be managing officers in multiple Diocese’s schools and report to Wendell Hissrich, director of safety and security for the diocese.

The chief’s last day with Fox Chapel was Nov. 2 and his new job was set to begin the following day.

“I’m looking forward to making new connections,” Stevens said. “Just like I’m going to miss the people in Fox Chapel, I’m looking forward to the new relationships I’ll build there.”

Stevens said he will have a more flexible schedule and less administrative responsibilities with the new job.

He talked about his career and time with the borough while packing up office items on Oct. 29.

Background and resume

Stevens grew up in Middlesex Township, Butler County, and graduated from Mars Area High School in 1984.

He joined the military at age 18 and served as an Army MP from 1984-87.

Stevens credits his late father, John Stevens, an Air Force staff sergeant, and late mother, Dorothy Stevens, a former school teacher, with instilling a desire to help people and join public service.

“I had visions of becoming a law enforcement officer at a young age,” Stevens said. “I wanted to gain experience of three years and have military service. I was raised by two parents who volunteered and served. I saw the good that they were doing in helping people, and I always had that desire and could figure no better way than to get into police work.”

Stevens said he was grateful for the tips his father gave him about the military and the benefits of serving the country.

“His advice to me was, ‘If you’re going to go into the military, learn a skill that you could use in civilian life,’ ” Stevens said. “Knowing that I wanted to be a police officer, that was the direction that I took.”

After the military, Stevens used the Montgomery GI Bill to attend the Allegheny County Police Academy in 1987. He got his first police jobs working part-time for Evans City and Mars Borough.

Stevens went to the Pennsylvania State Police Academy and left two weeks before graduation to become a full-time patrolman in Fox Chapel in January 1989.

He said he declined an opportunity to become a state trooper in a more remote part of the state so he could work closer to home and his wife, Denise.

The couple married in April 1986. They now have four adult children.

Stevens said taking the Fox Chapel job was the best professional decision he’s ever made.

He worked his way up the ranks to sergeant in 2000 and was promoted to chief in August 2021.

“The borough itself has changed very little,” Stevens said. “I would label it as consistently steady. It’s been probably the best place to work in law enforcement. I am extremely grateful for the career that I’ve had here and the support of the residents, the council, the mayor. This is just a phenomenal place to work as a police officer.

“Law enforcement has changed quite a bit. The technology that now exists didn’t exist back in the ’80s. It is a very technical profession now. The laws have changed.”

Stevens recalled crafting reports and complaints on a typewriter in his early years.

The progression of in-car cameras, body cameras, police radios, license plate readers and computers has made protecting and serving easier.

“The digital world in policing has been a positive for police work,” Stevens said.

The police department has increased manpower and developed strong community relationships during Stevens’ tenure.

Staffing was consistently at 11 full-time officers for years. The roster has grown to 13, including one designated as a school resource officer for Shady Side Academy.

Questions about overtime became a frequent segment at council meetings over the years.

Council President Andrew Bennett, on several occasions, likened it to a contest between the police and the Public Works Department.

“Council’s responsibility is to the taxpayers and to spend the finances wisely,” Stevens said. “Council was doing their job.”

Other career highlights include earning gold as a quad racer in the 2015 American Woods Racing Championship Series and a third-degree black belt in American Streetwise Self Defense. He is a member of and taught self-defense classes at Victory Family Church in Cranberry.

A luncheon at council chambers in Stevens’ honor was planned for Halloween.

“We’re very appreciative of his service to the borough and his connections to the community,” Councilman Jon Colton said Oct. 29. “Our community is also appreciative.”

Colton’s said Steven’s retirement did not come as a surprise since he entered a Deferred Retirement Option Plan in January.

Entering DROP means wages and pension levels are frozen while the employee has the option to continue working up to three years.

Monthly benefit payments are kept in an interest-bearing account by the borough and are fully available whenever the officer decides to formally hand in his badge and gun.

Colton also expressed confidence in Sorg, who entered the DROP program in July 2024 and plans to retire in about 19 months.

“He’s a veteran officer,” Colton said. “We have confidence he will fill the role on an interim basis; otherwise, we wouldn’t have made that decision.”

Borough Manager Julie P. Bastianini said Stevens’ salary was $146,425 and Sorg’s hourly rate is $56.05. Sorg will receive a stipend of $1,100 per month for the duration of his interim job.

Meet the new boss

Sgt. Craig Sorg was appointed interim chief by council on Oct. 20.

His start date in the new position was Nov. 3.

“I look forward to serving the amazing community that we have,” Sorg said Oct. 29. “Providing the best services our police department has. We have a lot of great professional police officers. We’ll protect the residents and also get to know them in our community outreach programs.”

He and Stevens both worked as Mars police officers before joining Fox Chapel.

“I’ve known him all my professional career,” Stevens said. “I think he’s going to do a wonderful job as interim chief. He is community relations-driven, and he will do a great job connecting the police department with the residents and the community.”

Sorg would have been Stevens’ boss had he taken a different path.

Sorg started his career with the Jackson Township Police Department in 1986 and joined Mars Borough’s force in 1987, moving up the ranks to chief before leaving in 1994.

He graduated from Seneca Valley High School in 1982 and the Allegheny County Police Academy in 1985.

He was hired by Fox Chapel in September 1994 and became a sergeant in August 2021.

Sorg organizes the department’s community events like the bike rodeo, pumpkin painting, Coffee with Cops, Fox Chapel Day and many others.

He said he was surprised by Stevens’ retirement and pleased to continue those programs.

“Initially, I was surprised that he was leaving now, but I am happy for his future,” Sorg said. “It sounds like he has a great opportunity ahead of him. … He’s a good, honest man. He’s very helpful and caring.”

He pledged to continue those efforts as interim chief.

Diocese calling

Hissrich said Stevens was selected out of more than a dozen candidates.

“We narrowed the field down to a few, of which we interviewed,” Hissrich said Oct. 30. “Michael was very good during the interview. Some of the questions were scenario-based, and he was able to articulate through the scenarios very well.”

Hissrich said Stevens has vast experience and is well-respected by police chiefs throughout Allegheny County.

“I have not heard a bad thing about Chief Stevens,” he said. “We narrowed the field down and had several very good candidates, and he rose above the others.”

There are 30 officers in the Diocese, 24 full-time and six part-time. Their areas are split into eastern, southern and northern regions.

The Eastern Region includes Aspinwall, Monroeville, Plum, White Oak and Munhall among other areas.

Stevens will oversee about eight officers. Diocese officials declined to disclose Stevens’ salary.

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