GAINSEVILLE, FL (WFLA) — A Gainesville Police officer is getting major props for showing kids that cops aren’t so bad and letting “kids be kids.”
Officer Bobby White was dispatched to a complaint of kids playing basketball “too loudly” in the streets. The call came in on January 15th just after 5 p.m.
When Officer White pulled up to the location, he immediately observed kids doing what kids do best – simply having fun; not committing crimes.
Officer White took it upon himself to join in the fun. “That’s a nice hoop,” he can be heard saying as he takes the basketball. He dribbles around with a couple kids at first before several others come and join in the game. See the video above.
After about ten minutes of playing, Officer White leaves them saying, “I don’t know who called but, obviously I have no problem with you playing basketball on the street, but if you can, just try not to be too loud. But have fun. I’d rather see you out there doing this than causing problems.”
He continues, “You guys play out here every day? I might bring some back up. You gonna be out here tomorrow? We’ll get a little game going.”
The officer is being praised on the Gainesville Police Department Facebook page, where the video of the interaction was posted. The video has been seen over one million times from around the world as of Friday morning.
One Facebook user writes, “Gainesville Police Dept and Officer White should be dispatched to other areas of the country to show them how policing should be. Kudos and thanks to them.”
Another says, “Love this! 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!” See more here.