Shaler Dedicates Baseball Field To Slain Police Officer

SHALER (KDKA) -- Several hundred people gathered in Shaler's Kiwanis Park to honor one of their own.

Penn Hills Police Officer Michael Crawshaw, a Shaler native, was shot and killed in the line of duty back in December of 2009.

The baseball field at the park was renamed in his memory. Crawshaw's parents, Linda and Jim, did the unveiling.

"I've known Mike since he was 14 years old. Some of my friends – there's a group of us – they've known Mike since he was four," Joe Derouin said. "We will do whatever it takes to keep his legacy alive and well here in our hometown."

Crawshaw and his friends played many baseball games at the field.

After being approached by a group of Crawshaw's friends, township commissioners decided earlier this year that the baseball field would be named in Crawshaw's memory.

"His loss was felt by many people ... naturally his family and his friends, but it was a loss for our community as well as Penn Hills' community," Dave Shutter, chairman of the board of commissioners, said.

Before joining the Penn Hills Police Department in 2007, Crawshaw was a police officer for the University of Pittsburgh. His brother, Matt, is a police officer with the Northern Regional Police Department.

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