Who knew members of our local law enforcement could make music videos with the best of them?
Or that they knew the words to ’90s pop hits?
If you’ve scrolled through your Facebook newsfeed lately, chances are you’ve seen #lipsyncchallenge – police officers from departments across the country filming themselves lip-syncing songs and then challenging other agencies to come up with a video of their own.
Now, you can add officers from Durango Police Department to the growing list of crime-fighting video stars.
Lip-syncing and dancing their way through Swedish pop group Ace of Base’s 1993 hit “The Sign,” officers have racked up the Facebook numbers: As of Thursday morning, the video, which was posted to DPD’s Facebook page on Tuesday, had more than 246,000 views and had been shared more than 7,900 times.
“We’re kind of shocked,” said Officer Cindi Taylor. “We’ve been getting messages almost every day with requests to do one. People were even calling us, so we figured we better jump on board and do one.”
Filmed by Taylor on an iPad and in front of a green screen, the video took about two weeks to make because it had to be filmed during breaks and in between calls, Taylor said, adding that the point was to have a good time.
“We just wanted to show that we have a sense of humor, we can have fun, too,” she said.
It’s also a good way to engage with the community, said Cpl. Ethan Harper, who is in the doughnut-themed video.
“We’re incredibly blessed to live in the community that we do, so to have the ability to reach out with something like this and have people walk down the street and say, ‘Hey, you’re that guy from that video,’ or, ‘Hey, you’re the girl from that video,’ it genuinely does bring our community closer,” he said. “It’s another way for us to reach out and get in touch with our community members. And basically just find a way to laugh and have a good time instead of always having to show up for something serious.”
Harper said not only is the video fun to watch, it was fun to make as well and incorporated officers from all departments.
“We had an absolute blast. Deck Shaline has been here for 20-plus years, right down to me; I’ve been here just over a year-and-a-half. We had cops from all over,” Harper said. “To see that kind of participation from everyone is pretty amazing. This is definitely a full department interest. It’s not just one or two guys.”
The officers in the video are: Harper; Sgt. Deck Shaline; Detective Brad Roach; Officer Andy Kaplan; Officer Padraic Ingle; Officer Forrest Kinney; Sgt. Will Sweetwood; Sgt. Nick Stasi; Sgt. David Longenette; and K-9 Betty even has a cameo.
Oh, and La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, you’re on notice – DPD has challenged you to come up with your own video.
katie@durangoherald.com
