March 15, 2017
NYPD Cop Who Went Viral for Twerking at Gay Pride Dies of 9/11-Related Brain Cancer
READ TIME: 2 MIN.
New York Police Department Officer Michale Hance, who went viral in 2015 after he was recorded twerking at Gay Pride, died Sunday after losing a battle with brain cancer that may be connected to exposure to harmful elements to the 9/11 attacks, the New York Daily News reports. He was 44.
According to his obituary, Hance was a 17-year police veteran and was a first responder to attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Hance was diagnosed with brain cancer in November after he fell in front of his home and complained about dizziness, the cop's brother Peter Hance told the NYDN. The cancer eventually spread to his lungs, liver and chest.
Hance, a father of two young daughters, became an Internet sensation in 2015 when he was recorded dancing to Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" with NYC Gay Pride attendee Aaron Santis. The video has gone on to earn nearly 8 million views.
"I was as impressed as I was happy," Brian Downey, the president of the NYPD's Gay Officers Action League, told the newspaper of 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 twerking with Hance. Santis gave the officer a kiss and put a sticker on him that read, "I'd hit that!"
"That's just who he was," Hance's brother told the NYDN. "He was definitely a people person. He has like 8 million friends."
A GoFundMe page was created before Hance's death to help pay for his medical bills. Click here to donate.
Watch Hance's video below.
