GAINESVILLE, Florida A police department in Florida says it wants to let kids be kids.
Officer Bobby White of the Gainesville Police Department responded to a game of street basketball after someone called to complain, but instead of breaking up the game, he decided to join in. White expressed disbelief that someone would report an innocent game of basketball taking place in daylight at 5 p.m.
Dashcam video of White playing basketball with the kids quickly went viral after it was posted on the police departments Facebook page Thursday. The game happened on Jan. 15.
Wow. One MILLION people have now seen Officer White's style of policing, the department wrote on Facebook. We hope that it inspires other officers! We are overwhelmed with the amount of support. Officer White WILL try for a full game coming soon!
Only 12 hours later, the department commented on its video again.
As the sun rises in Florida our video is now almost at 4 million views, the comment reads. Unreal. We are proud to be able to be a positive light for law enforcement in today's view of officers. Not all of us that wear the badge are perfect. Not even close. But we know there are thousands of officers around the country that are just like this. Thanks for the incredible support!
White promised to bring backup for a rematch before he left the basketball group, which quickly grew from two players to eight while he was playing.
Officer Bobby White of the Gainesville Police Department responded to a game of street basketball after someone called to complain, but instead of breaking up the game, he decided to join in. White expressed disbelief that someone would report an innocent game of basketball taking place in daylight at 5 p.m.
Dashcam video of White playing basketball with the kids quickly went viral after it was posted on the police departments Facebook page Thursday. The game happened on Jan. 15.
Wow. One MILLION people have now seen Officer White's style of policing, the department wrote on Facebook. We hope that it inspires other officers! We are overwhelmed with the amount of support. Officer White WILL try for a full game coming soon!
Only 12 hours later, the department commented on its video again.
As the sun rises in Florida our video is now almost at 4 million views, the comment reads. Unreal. We are proud to be able to be a positive light for law enforcement in today's view of officers. Not all of us that wear the badge are perfect. Not even close. But we know there are thousands of officers around the country that are just like this. Thanks for the incredible support!
White promised to bring backup for a rematch before he left the basketball group, which quickly grew from two players to eight while he was playing.
