D.C. Cop Breaks Up Fight, Then Diffuses Situation With Dance-Off
WASHINGTON (WJZ) -- It's the viral video even President Obama is talking about, and some say it's a good step in restoring trust between police and the public. A D.C. cop is caught on cell phone dancing with a student.
Amy Yensi spoke to the teenager in the dance-off.
Video of a D.C. officer doing the Nae Nae dance goes viral, even reaching the White House. President Obama tweeted: "Who knew community policing could involve the Nae Nae? Great example of police having fun while keeping us safe."
The cell phone video of a Metropolitan police officer dancing with a teenage girl is a far cry from the more common videos of confrontations between police and the community--from chaos at a pool party in Texas to a Baltimore officer beating a man at a bus stop and another allegedly spitting on a suspect.
"The more that you can humanize the men and women in blue, trust goes up, crime goes down," said police expert Rob Weinhold.
"I started doing the Nae Nae just to tease her or something," said Aaliyah Taylor.
Taylor, seen dancing with the D.C. cop in the video, says the officer arrived on K Street Monday afternoon to keep a group of girls from fighting.
"She said, 'I can do better than that.' And I was like, 'Really?' She was like, 'Yeah, I can show you.' And I was like, 'Alright.' And she was like, 'Come on, let's dance,'" said Taylor.
The dance battle has left the community in good spirits.
"They should have more people like that come on out here to dance with them," said one resident.
Though the officer wants to stay anonymous, her dedication is changing how one girl sees police.
"I was just like, there's some good cops out here. We need more cops like that. If we had more cops like that, it would be a peaceful environment," said Taylor.
As for who won the dance-off--it depends. Most people say any time the police and community get along, everyone wins.
Taylor says she wants a rematch with the officer so they can make another video together.
