On January 15th, the Gainesville (FL) Police Department (GPD) got a call for a violation of a noise ordinance. The caller was concerned that the kids playing basketball in the street that afternoon were being too noisy. An officer was dispatched. Upon his arrival, the scene pretty much had dissipated, but one guy hung around to talk to the officer. After they exchanged a few words, the resident kid tossed the basketball to the cop. What ensued was a street ballgame where more than a few of the kids who had been playing before the cop showed up joined back in. The cop, realizing he was outclassed, left the scene of the noisy kids playing, but not before issuing a warning that he would be back with backup.
On January 23rd, last Saturday, the cop, Officer White — yes, for real, his surname is White — made good on his threat. He showed up with backup. He was ready to kick ass, and he did. He kicked ass by letting teenaged black boys and girls know that playing basketball on the street was a cool thing to do and for reminding them to keep the noise down in respect of their neighbors.
Oh, and his backup? It was none other than Shaquille O’Neal. Yeah, no shit. Officer White was just as surprised as the kids were. The GPD is not perfect, but it’s got my respect for consistently working to make our community better under the leadership of chief Tony Jones. I’m proud to say I’m proud of the work they do. Here’s the vids: