Police officers take 'Footloose' dance challenge to the next level

The Nixa Police Department in Missouri decided to join the Internet lip synching challenge, and the results surpassed every expectation. Their impressive performance will make you want to dance.

Throughout the United States, police officers participate in a fun online challenge that is the latest trend. Now it was the turn for the Nixa Police Department officers, who surprised everyone with their version of it.

A video uploaded to the Nixa Police Departments’ official Facebook page showed the enthusiastic policemen dancing and moving to the rhythm of Kenny Loggins’s iconic song “Footloose”. Read more on our Twitter account @amomama_usa

Their interpretation of the famous song included several lawmen showcasing their dance steps in different settings like the streets, the police department, restaurants, donut shops, and even in front of parked police cars.

But instead of making their clip a police-only dance routine, they invited the residents of the community to join them, featuring individuals from many ages who wanted to be part of the initiative, according to Share Tap.

“No budget, no production company (shot and edited by our Public Information Officer who studied film production), and all officers donated their time to participate. We believe in being responsible with taxpayer dollars and we made an extra effort to do so while having fun.”

-Nixa Police Department, Facebook, August 2018.

Big shoes to fill

If you remember the original "Footloose" movie, you can’t help but think of Kevin Bacon moving around the city.

You need to be very special to be able to replicate what Kevin Bacon did to position himself in our minds for decades.

Some say that the remake of the film did not do it justice. However, the Nixa Police Department’s rendition of the namesake song continues to be the focus of attention.

So far, the contagious video has been viewed 2.6 million times and more than 34,000 users have reacted to it. It has been shared over 62,000 times as of yet.

What people are saying about it

Like with any other viral phenomenon, the Nixa Police Department’s video has been received in many ways by the people, with good and bad opinions been shared in the comments section, starting a public debate.

“That was so much fun to watch!! Made me kind of wish I lived in Nixa just to share in the fun of the video!! Great job!” celebrated Facebook user Valerie Holey.

Contrary to Holey’s opinion, Matthew McClatchy, another user of the social network complained:

“Is there not a meth and opioid crisis. Tax dollars spent I'd like to know how much in total for this video was spent.”

User Melissa Whitaker Jacobs addressed the issue of tax dollars spending in a more supportive way:

“Loved this and there are lots of local, state and federal tax dollars being used on things that are way more wasteful but I wouldn't consider this one of them. Thank you Nixa Police Department for the video. It is awesome,” she wrote.

Showing its commitment to maintain a close relationship with the people they serve, the Police Department replied to their critics's concerns with a comment signed by officer Drew Douglas, who produced the video.

“Community outreach is part of our mission. By engaging with citizens and developing relationships, we build trust with members of the community who will let us know when they see something that needs attention,” he wrote.

“We believe in community policing and think that fun things like this every once in a while actually help us serve our community better,” added Douglas.

“Plus, we still had officers on patrol who were on the clock protecting the community while officers who were off the clock were able to participate. We appreciate your concern for our community,” concluded the Public Information Officer.

Everybody loves dancing policemen

In another instance, Casey Chumney, a police officer from Alabama, showed a different side to his personality by performing an impromptu dance-off with a five-year-old girl named Armani.

The girl for whom the officer dance later told that he made her feel that ‘all police officers are not bad.’

Officer Jacqui Prest from Manchester, England, became Internet famous in 2015 after surprising the crowd with her own impromptu dance amid an LGBT pride parade she was escorting.

Her moves and attitude were so contagious that soon a male officer –who wasn’t as good of a dancer as Prest- and the clip received lots of online attention and praise, proving you can still protect and serve while having fun.