Making the blue line bolder

Jana Mathia, Gazette Staff | Jul 19, 20180

A current trend sweeping social media is the police lip sync challenge. Law offices across the country are posting videos of anywhere from one person to the entire department―staff and support personnel included―mouthing along to songs from current hits to ones debuted on LP tracks.

Different departments have different takes on the videos. For some it is a way to highlight their officers, resources, staff and toys. For others it is just pure fun. A few use it as a way to commemorate fallen comrades or a special event.

These sometimes goofy, sometimes touching outlets have probably done more for police PR and goodwill than any orchestrated campaign. The videos introduce the public to the men and women serving and protecting them in the universal languages of music and dance. There are the sexy cops who generate comments like, “He can arrest and frisk me anytime.” There are the overweight, over-the-hill guys who generate cheers when they break out in dance moves like The Sprinkler. There are the ones who are every inch a law enforcement machine, but who knew the machine could move like that? There are women of various ages and body styles. Men and women of a spectrum of ethnic backgrounds are dancing and singing alongside ginger white boys.

In a time when the gap between the police and the public they serve seems to be becoming broader and darker, these videos are dumping filler in that gap and building bridges. There is no news media angle, no disgruntled citizens―many videos include public and school kids dancing along with their boys and girls in blue. The cops are not the bad guys. Some may be bad dancers, but they are people doing a difficult job and this is an opportunity to have some fun with it.

No word on local law enforcement producing a video yet, but more are showing up every day with one department challenging another. There are so many options as to what our local law officers could do. It could be something touching like Colfax Chief McNannay doing 'Tough' by Craig Morgan in honor of his wife. It could be something useful like a PSA on what qualifies as assaulting an officer with Officer Cory Alcantar channeling MC Hammer in 'Can't Touch This.' Or for a good laugh, perhaps the Whitman County Sheriff's Department reenacting the football scene from “Glee” with 'All My Single Ladies.'

The possibilities are endless. Whatever the song is, it would be a great opportunity to shine a positive light on the good works our police officers do every day.