By Annabel Ames
The Detroit Police Department is hipper than you think, as it shows the public and potential recruits.
The department released a video Monday that has gone viral, showing officers busting out their best dance moves in front of some of the city's high profile spots like Comerica Park, the RiverWalk fountains and the Joe Louis fist. Some scenes include cops dancing with children. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, the video passed 4.1 million views and nearly 126,000 shares on Facebook.
Police Chief James Craig said Tuesday that the video is designed to attract new talent to the department, boost inter-department morale and increase community involvement, according to a Detroit News article by Holly Fournier.
“We are part of the community; we are Motown,” Craig says, according to The News. “This is really about the image of the city and the department. When people see that we’re human, they’re more willing to talk to us.”
The video responds to a Running Man dance challenge that started with two teens on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Others took up the challenge by creating their own videos.
In the Detroit Police video, Chief Craig challenges other departments -- including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Cleveland -- to produce dance videos.
At the end, Craig says: “We outta here. Join the DPD.”
