NYPD Officer Michael Hance, who raised eyebrows and made headlines in 2015 for twerking with a reveler at the city’s Gay Pride parade, has died of 9/11-related cancer. He was 44.
The 17-year veteran of the NYPD, who worked the bucket brigade in the aftermath of the terror attack on the World Trade Center, died Sunday.
“He always liked to help people,” his brother, Peter Hance, 45, told the Daily News. “He always liked to do good.”
Hance, who worked out of the 111th Precinct stationhouse in Bayside, Queens, was diagnosed with brain cancer in November after he fell in front of his home and complained of feeling dizzy, his brother said. As he fought the disease, the cancer spread to his lungs, liver and chest.
He struggled years ago in high school and got his GED before going to SUNY Binghamton, where he earned a degree in mental health services. His proud family members said Hance later joined the police department.
In 2005, the divorced father of two young daughters was honored by the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association for saving an infant who choked on a Lego, his brother remembered.
“He loved being a cop,” Peter Hance said. “It was in his blood.”
The heterosexual Hance uplifted the city’s spirits two years ago when a cellphone video that showed him dancing, on duty and in uniform, with reveler Aaron Santis at the Manhattan pride parade went viral.
“I was as impressed as I was happy,” said Brian Downey, the president of the NYPD’s Gay Officers Action League said about the video. “He isn’t a member of GOAL or the LGBT community, but we were elated to see that video. It represented the true spirit of the police family. That’s what 99.5% of cops are like.”
Santis was marching with the Big Apple Softball League, an LGBT sports group, when he started dancing in front of Hance. The Queens cop quickly joined in and began grooving to the Michael Jackson song “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” with Santis. He then turned and started twerking while Santis was grinding behind him.
Santis left Hance after giving him a big smooch on the cheek and a sticker from the softball league that read, “I’d hit that!”
The 13-second video has been viewed 7,785,244 times, said Paige Ponzeka, who recorded the unique New York moment.
“It was really special,” said Ponzeka. “Aaron had danced in front of a lot of cops, but they were not as responsive. Then we saw this officer get into it. (Hance) understood what the parade was about — about having fun and being yourself.”
Ponzeka didn’t know until later that Hance was straight, she said.
“That was the best part … that he was straight and was still having fun at the parade,” she said. “That was a great message to send. A lot of cops have a tough-guy vibe, but he had the vibe that you can have fun and there was nothing wrong with that.”
The dance was brought to the attention of the NYPD, but Hance was never disciplined, officials said.
The officer’s family was unsurprised that the beloved cop managed to connect with paradegoers.
“That’s just who he was,” his brother said. “He was definitely a people person. He has like 8 million friends.”
The video also caught the attention of Andy Cohen, the host of Bravo TV’s “Watch What Happens Live,” who is due to accept GOAL’s “Visibility Award” in June. Cohen was hoping Hance could attend the event.
Downey hoped to accommodate the request.
“We were having a board meeting this week to see if (Hance) would like to come to the event … and then we heard that he died,” Downey said. “We didn’t know he was sick.”
Hance, a resident of Bethpage, L.I., leaves behind daughters Kaitlyn, 12, and Jenna, 10.
“Those two daughters were his life,” his brother said. “They’re going through a rough time right now.”
A wake will be held at the Arthur White Funeral Home in Bethpage from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday, with a funeral at 11 a.m. Saturday at St. Martin of Tours Roman Catholic Church, also in Bethpage.
