A cop's reaction to a call about noisy kids playing basketball in the street is gaining him thousands of online fans.
A cop's reaction to a call about noisy kids playing basketball in the street is gaining him thousands of online fans.
Gainesville Police Officer Bobby White responded to a call about the kids playing "loudly" on January 15 - but rather than chiding them, he joined in their game.
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Police shared dash-cam footage of his interaction with the teenagers.
"You believe someone's calling to complain about kids playing basketball in the street? Do you believe that?" The officer is heard asking one. "I don't know who called, but obviously, I ain't got no problem with it."
As the video shows, he jumps into the game, successfully shooting hoops as he chats with the teens. Other youngsters notice the game and come out to the street to join in.
The group screams in surprise when Officer White slam dunks the ball.
"Do me a favor," he says as he goes to leave. "Obviously I have no problem with you playing basketball in the street. Just if you can, try not to be too loud, you know what I mean? But have fun."
As he heads back to his car, he says he'll return the next day with some more officers.
The video, which was shared on the Gainesville Police Department's Facebook page, explains: "So if you call GPD to complain about kids being kids, this is how Officer White is going to handle it. We're going to let kids be kids. We are going to focus on the ones that commit crimes. #HoopsNotCrime"
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Officer White's actions were praised online.
"Love this!" one Facebook user wrote. "Shame on someone for reporting kids playing. We should be thankful they were acting like kids. Thank you to the officer for being so awesome!"
In response to the positive comments, the department added on Friday morning: "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!"
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