Viral Videos Help Humanize Law Enforcement Across The Country
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – In an effort to humanize law enforcement, police officers across the country are competing in "Cop Pool Karaoke" and lip sync battles.
We begin with the Boston Police Department, whose rendition of "God Bless America" went viral:
Well played, BPD. But naturally, the NYPD had a response.
Last week, Police Commissioner James O'Neill shared a video of two officers singing Katy Perry's "Firework" in their patrol car:
In Texas, lip sync battles have have gone statewide.
The brother of Patrick Zamarripa, one of five Dallas police officers killed in an ambush in 2016, shared a video of the fallen officer dancing to music in his patrol car. The video was recorded several years before his death.
"My brother would have instantly accepted the challenge, because in my post I said in an alternate universe he would accept the challenge," Carlos Zamarripa said.
The Arlington Police Department invited CBS Dallas-Fort Worth to film the making of its challenge at a Dunkin' Donuts:
"What a great way for us to interact with the public in a different manner, and, for example, making these types of videos. It puts officers in a different light, it's really positive for our department, and it allows us to reach folks that sometimes we normally wouldn't reach through the use of making a funny video like this," said Lt. Chris Cook.
Their video has since been posted to Facebook and viewed more than 100,000 times.
