Back in the late 1800’s, Gilbert and Sullivan wrote “When a felon is not engaged in his employment, or maturing his felonious little plans, our feelings we with difficulty smother when constabulary duty is to be done. Ahh, take one consideration with another, a policeman’s lot is not a happy one!”
Those lyrics are in a show-stopping tune in the G-and-S raucous comic opera “The Pirates of Penzance.”
In today’s counterculture craziness of punish-the-police admonitions, anti-police rhetoric seems to have put an alarming exclamation point to those G-and-S words.
Happily, however, there is an abundance of exceptions to that current diatribe!
Like recognizing the “Police Officer of the Year” in Lower Merion Township!
Such recognition for Police Officer Michael Pleasants (shades of coincidence, anyone?) voted by his fellow officers in the Main Line’s largest police department was celebrated by the Kiwanis Club of the Main Line last week at a luncheon at Bryn Mawr’s Flip and Bailey restaurant, in his honor. And deservedly so!
For almost a quarter of a century, the Kiwanis Club of the Main Line has annually honored a Lower Merion Township Police Officer of the Year, so it was that earlier this month (during National Police Week) Officer Michael Pleasants, an 18-year veteran of the largest township police force on the Main Line, joined the list of outstanding officers who have earned the singular respect and distinction of his colleagues throughout those years and the ensuing Kiwanis recognition.
Along with a luncheon in his honor Officer Pleasants received a photo plaque and a cash appreciation award from Kiwanis to celebrate his signature achievement.
Of course, Michael’s wife and parents, senior police officers, including retired Superintendent Mike McGrath (also recognized for his decades of service with the LMPD) and Acting Superintendent Eugene Pasternak, were in attendance, as was a delegation of members of the township’s board of commissioners.
The Kiwanis award, a personal photo engraved plaque and a check of appreciation was presented to Officer Pleasants at the latest in a decades-long Kiwanis annual event to a Lower Merion police officer for commitment, dedication, and service to the community.
Jim Hanna, a long-time club member, reflected that the annual award personifies one of the signature Six Objects of Kiwanis: “To cooperate in creating and maintaining sound public opinion and high idealism which make possible the increase of righteousness, justice, patriotism and good will.”
Officer Pleasants, a 16-year veteran of the department, is recognized for exemplary performance and for his dedication to the Department and the citizens of Lower Merion Township.
And it’s apropos that the Kiwanis recognition came during National Police Week.
National Police Week is a time for police officers to honor their fallen colleagues, ensuring those surviving them are supported, as well as to remember their commitment to keeping people safe.
National Police Week is all about honor, gratitude, remembrance, servitude, and peer support.
Officer Pleasants is serving in his 16th year with this department and is currently assigned to the patrol division. He is an exceptional police officer who consistently demonstrates a solid work ethic and maintains a professional commitment to the police department.
Michael is a veteran Field Training Officer who relies on his experience and sound judgment when training and mentoring new police recruits. He is also a Platoon Investigator, which includes significant additional responsibilities and a heavy workload.
In this role, he is responsible for criminal case management, crime scene evaluation and processing, follow-up investigations and interviews, preparing criminal complaints, search warrants, and other court-related paperwork, and preparing and conducting court presentations for criminal hearings.
Of the 92 investigations assigned to him during 2023, he brought criminal prosecutions for 42 of them, including Thefts, Assaults, Burglaries, Assaults on Police, DUI, Fraud, Arson, and Firearms Violations.
Examples of Michael’s exemplary work in 2023 outlined in his recognition citation include:
He presented a block of training to members of his Platoon. He developed the training “Conducting Complete Interviews” using his years of experience, his training as a Platoon Investigator, and guidance from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. It included a training outline, a PowerPoint presentation, and a lecture.
The presentation highlighted valuable information and visual references.
He took time from his busy schedule to develop and present this training to pass along his knowledge to improve his fellow officers’ overall readiness and capability.
Michael is a sworn member of the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Narcotics Enforcement Task Force and the Gun Violence Reduction Task Force. He attended ATF training on identifying firearms violations and ghost guns and has become the chief liaison regarding firearm-related crimes.
He assures us that all firearms are being submitted and tested correctly by this department and within the guidelines laid out by the District Attorney.
Michael was also selected to work in the Special Investigations Unit, which often involves undercover work and surveillance. During that time, he successfully developed and cultivated a relationship with a Confidential Informant; he identified and arrested a drug trafficker, which led to a seizure of a large quantity of illegal drugs and firearms.
Additionally, he assisted with another drug investigation, which has so far resulted in the seizure of several kilos of cocaine, one arrest, with more pending.
Michael has been nominated for Officer of the Quarter five times throughout his impressive career and has won once.
The above highlights the exceptional work that Michael continually produces. This is typical of his daily work product. He embodies the characteristics, work ethic, and professionalism we should encourage all Patrol Officers to strive for.
Because of his outstanding work and accomplishments, it is no surprise that Officer Michael Pleasants was selected by his peers as Lower Merion Township Police Department’s 2023 Officer of the Year.
Finally, nobody asked, but although we are shining a light on a police officer in Lower Merion, let us remember that deserving officers in other Main Line municipalities and police departments throughout the nation step forward every day to protect and serve.
The next time you see a police officer in your community, a friendly “thank you” could make the day for both of you.
The Last Word: Good day, good luck, and good news tomorrow!
