McCandless names Michael Bock police Officer of the Year

Great attitude and an enthusiastic work ethic have earned Detective Michael Bock the McCandless Township’s Officer of the Year award for 2020.

“He excelled for many years while on patrol and in 2019 was assigned to the investigations division, where he continues to be a self-starter and self-motivated, evidenced in his numerous arrests,” said McCandless Police Chief Ryan Hawk, who made the announcement during the Nov. 8 town council meeting.

The honor was delayed, Hawk said, because of the retirement of former police Chief David R. DiSanti Sr. and larger projects the department has undertaken.

“I hope to name the 2021 Officer of the Year by spring to get us caught up, so to speak,” Hawk said.

Bock has been with the township’s police department for 17 years and has been a police officer for more than 20.

“He goes above and beyond as a patrol officer. He comes to work every day with a positive attitude,” said Hawk.

A graduate of the Pittsburgh Police Academy in 2000, Bock started his career with Pittsburgh police, where he worked for five years, first in patrol and then as plain clothes working narcotics.

He then moved to the North Hills to raise his family and work for McCandless Police Department.

Bock supports the department in several areas, including recently teaching courses at the recent Citizens Police Academy and with planning the township’s National Night Out this past August. He also assisted in budget planning for the department.

With McCandless being a smaller department compared to Pittsburgh, Bock said it provides him more involvement with his investigations, opposed to passing information along to another unit. And he gets to know the community.

“There’s more interaction with residents on a more frequent basis,” he said.

At the council meeting, Bock thanked Hawk, council members and his partner, Detective Sgt. Eric Egli, who assisted him in transitioning from patrol officer to detective in McCandless’s investigation unit.

The award is named in honor of Officer Albert Devlin, who lost his life in the line of duty Jan. 8, 1973, while serving as a McCandless Police Officer, Hawk said.

The award recognizes officers who go out in the community every day, going above and beyond their duty by their dedication, their activity and loyalty to the department and their community, Hawk said.

The first officer honored was in 2018, and it has since continued. Hawk said that especially during the pandemic in 2020, all members of his department deserve to be recognized for their hard work.