Video of dance battle between 3rd grader, police officer goes viral
A police officer left a third-grade boy "shocked" after they faced off in a break dancing battle in downtown Denver over the weekend. The heartwarming moment was captured on video.
The young boy, Jayden Marquez, approached the Denver Police Department officer, who was standing by the department’s motorcycles, and asked if he could take a photo. Instead of standing nearby the motor units and smiling, Jayden pulled off a popular breakdancing move, a one-handed hand-stand called a pike.
Officer Thanaret Phuvapaisalkij, who is known as "PJ," according to KDVR, was instantly impressed with Jayden's moves — and opted to show off a little, too.
“He came up and he said he wanted to take a picture in front of the motorcycle," officer Phuvapaisalkij told the station. "I didn’t know what he was going to do. He did that freeze and I was like, he dances a little bit."
"Nice man!" Phuvapaisalkij says in the video, captured by Jayden's mom, Vanessa. "Try this one!"
Instantly, Phuvapaisalkij drops to the ground of the 16th Street Mall and performs some moves of his own.
"I'm shocked," Jayden, who just started dancing about a year ago, said when asked about the officer's skills. “There’s a lot of things that cops do out there, and it’s nice to see a cop breakdance with a kid."
His mom Vanessa added: “We see a lot of negative things out there in the media about police and all kinds of shootings, so this is something that makes you smile."
Denver Police Department did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.
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