Police officers praised for playing basketball with local kids: 'It's been a blessing'
A police department in Texas is receiving praise from its community after officers were seen playing basketball with a group of local boys.
The McKinney Police Department took to their Facebook page to share a video of their Neighborhood Police Officer Unit (NPO) on the court with kids from the area — a few of which were just shooting hoops when the officers were riding by.
“We were doing bike patrol in the area and there were a couple of kids playing basketball by themselves, it looked like they had just gotten there,” Officer Eric Grogan tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “The sergeant of our unit, Sgt. Garcia asked them if they wouldn’t mind some company and letting us play, and they were very gracious and accepted.”
According to Grogan, it’s something that he and the rest of the NPO do often in order to establish rapport with the community. Especially with its younger members.
“Anytime we can impact their lives, especially starting at a young age, and show them a different side of policing, then we like to do that,” he explains. “And sports, in my opinion, just kind of brings everyone together. It’s kind of a universal language, if you will, regardless of the sport.”
Comments on the Facebook post seem to prove just how appreciated the unit’s efforts are.
“Their interactions with the community is legitimate. We’re excited to now be residents,” one person wrote. While another said, “Engaging with the community is good police work.”
That engagement is something that Grogan takes great pride in after gaining fond memories of police officers from the community work that they did in his town growing up.
“I remember when I was young, long before I was a police officer, anytime I saw a police officer out in the community engaging in something that maybe was outside the norm, I thought that was really neat,” Grogan says. “So whether it be a sport or just sitting and chatting with somebody, being a listening ear, I think that always went a long way. Especially having the opportunity in the NPO program to do that and to pay that forward, it’s been a blessing in many ways.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
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