Okay, so you know how police officers haven’t been enjoying the best publicity this year because of violent incidents that distance them from the communities they patrol?
This is not that.
It’s so hearteningly not that.
Two beat cops in the Bronx took to an open court for a game of pickup basketball that, judging by the reaction, will be the talk of the block for a few weeks. Particularly Officer No. 2, captured here with his best jab step and turnaround jumpshot, who’s made a name for himself in the force and on the courts.
Not many dudes could hit that kind of off-balance dipper of a move with a full holster around the waist.
This is an example of the goodwill police can cultivate every day, under the radar. It’s also a textbook way to engage the communities where police officers are often feared, and sadly, living in fear themselves. Pickup basketball may not erase crime, but it will go a long way toward bridging part of the perception gap between law enforcement in the news and law enforcement in real time.
Way to go, anonymous cops. We salute you.
(H/t AJ+)
