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A Florida police department has gone viral after launching a social media campaign aimed at increasing recruitment and bridging the gap between police and the local community.
Speaking on “Fox & Friends Weekend,” members of the Ocala Police Department discussed an online campaign that has garnered millions of views by showing the human side behind the badge.
“Social media can bring light, especially since 2020 and all those things are happening, we were able to bring a good light to the police department, we can remove the serious side of the work, which shows that we have humanity,” said officer Sean Price.
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“These videos certainly make the badge a person, a uniform. I think that’s a really good way to do it, because you get caught a lot on social media. There are a lot of negative things,” he added.
Earlier this week, the department posted another video featuring Usher’s song “Daddy’s Home” as part of the “We Do” campaign. A recent video shows officers in casual dating situations while doing their job.
The video asks, “Do you open your door?” alongside pictures of a police officer escorting someone into a patrol car. It also features “Are you listening?” accompanied by a police officer taking a statement and “Are you answering your phone?” alongside a member of the emergency response team — they all replied “We do.”
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The video humorously highlights the many ways police serve their community and keep people safe, and has reached more than 19 million views on Facebook. Corporal Alexandria Blackman said the response has been positive, calling it “our way to show who we are without being serious.”
Two police officers patrol the sidewalk in a photo that depicts community policing and public safety efforts. (kali9/iStock)
“It’s a good way to communicate with the public so they can see our funny or light side,” she said.
Price echoed those comments, saying he believed the positive attention would lead to more applications to join the force.
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“I mean, since it’s been going around on social media, with all the likes and attention that we’ve had, I can just say that we’ve gotten some good attention,” Price said. He later added, “I’d say we should have more applications coming in here soon.”
A police officer stands next to a patrol car in a photo depicting law enforcement and public safety. (kali9/iStock)
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Officer Clayton Brown gave a message to those considering joining the force: “I would say, me, what’s your reason? You have to have a good sense of why you’re going into the job like this.”
“And if it comes to our community, you’re right [going to] be there on people’s worst days. And you have to come at it with a different perspective, a different perspective. You have to be able to see both sides of things. But I would say if you have that itch, we need good people. So what do you do.”
