On January 15, the dash cam video of Officer Bobby White, Gainesville (Florida) Police Department went viral. Unlike a lot of videos spreading across the world this one was not marred with negative feelings about police. In fact, just the opposite.
Around dinner time, a frequent caller wanted police to come deal with the handful of kids playing basketball in the street. When White arrived he handled the loud noise call his way, performing his duties the same way officers across the country have been dealing with calls such as these for decades. He used the opportunity to build a relationship. He played ball with them. He even made an amazing dunk. Then, he told those kids he would be back and he was bringing backup.
The video hit the web and the media took notice. When it was time for White to return for the rematch he brought an impressive team, including Shaquille O’Neal. What seemed to be a small interaction with a small group of kids in a 65-square mile north central Florida town was anything but small. It reached across the world.
LET: What was going through your mind as you responded to this call?
BW: I had the call before. It’s five to five-thirty in the afternoon and kids are out playing basketball in the street. That’s ridiculous but you can’t say it’s ridiculous and not go. I was excited because I’m always looking for those opportunities. I bought 50 to 60 footballs and basketballs with some grant money and I [always have some] in the cars. I was thinking, “Sweet, this is an opportunity to interact with some kids and start building a relationship.”
LET: What was your history with this group of kids?
BW: I’d never met them. Earlier, I’d had that same call in a different part of the city and handled it the same way. I couldn’t stay and play with them but I told them to try to be quiet.
LET: Do you feel it’s important to connect with kids?
BW: Absolutely. There is a damaged relationship between the youth and police. Every kid has a cellphone and social media. The media wants to cover the not-so-pretty side of policing where we have to use force.
The adults who are not police officers don’t understand why we use force and the kids certainly don’t. So when the parents are discussing it, [kids] believe what their parents believe. If you get a hold of them when they’re young you have a base. Even if mom says (police) are bad, (the kids) will say, “That’s not what I understand.”
Many kids don’t trust us and the only way you are going to change it is with one-on-one personal interaction. They are going to be adults one day. They may be a victim or a witness to a crime. If you have a base, they are going to come forward. If they are a witness to a crime against a police officer, it could be the difference of them jumping in and pulling someone off. We have to get them when they are young. We have to do it or they are going to grow up hating the police.
LET: How did you find out you were a social media sensation?
BW: When I was out there I wasn’t thinking about the dash cam because policy is we have to turn it on. I got back in the car and thought, “I want to see my dunk. I look pretty cool.” I took my cellphone and captured the dunk. I texted the clip to Ben, our PIO and put, “PSA. If you call GPD about kids playing loudly in the street, this is how GPD will handle it.” “Yes!!!!!” he texted back.
Four to five days later he sent me a text: “Check out FB page.” So that was the first time I saw the video. Within an hour it had 10,000 views then it had 50,000. By midnight it had a million. … I woke up and Ben is blowing my email up. We’re getting calls from all over the world. In less than 24 hours we had four million views.
LET: What was that like?
BW: I’m very private. If I do something good, it’s from my heart. This has been very different for me. Nothing I did was special at all. Ben said, “Bobby, read these comments. People around the world are praising you for what you did.” I don’t understand it. Why is this such news? It concerned me because this is something cops do every single day. As we speak, there are cops playing basketball with kids in the street throughout the country.
The day after, Ben said, “TMZ Sports wants you.” I said I’m not doing it. I don’t want to be on TV. I don’t want recognition. Then he said the NBA is getting involved. That’s when I said, if the NBA is getting involved it’s going to be about the kids.
LET: Then Shaq?
BW: I told the kids, “I’m going to be back with back-up. Be ready at 1 p.m. Bring your team.” At briefing that day Shaq walked in and I had no idea. He is a Doral Auxiliary Officer. He saw the video and heard “Officer White needs backup” and said “I’m going to go be his backup”. Awesome guy.
He didn’t want any media. But, now that Shaq is involved every news media in the world is calling me. Every day I was doing interviews. I didn’t have any days off. Fuji TV, BBC, little islands off of Australia. I didn’t know there were islands off Australia. I figured this is what’s cool right now and it’s going to wear off. It hasn’t worn off. Then the Orlando Magic calls and says, “We want to invite them to a game.” So it’s still news.
People are calling me a hero. I can’t even go on a call now. People recognize me everywhere. It’s crazy. They’re donating hoops and balls and I’m getting them out in the community. Nobody is getting tired of hearing about it. It’s crazy and wonderful all at the same time.
LET: Why do you think this incident had such a positive response?
BW: All the elements that came together. First, the call was ridiculous. Even if we posted, “Can you believe someone called GPD about this?” Even without a video it would have been viral. Then, there was my interaction with the kids. People said, “Can you believe someone called and then the officer played with them?” Anytime the police interact with kids it’s shocking to them.
Then you have a police officer in full uniform making a dunk and I said I was going to come back with backup. That says there might be a second chapter to this. Then there was the production of the video. Everything about it: the real police radio in the background and the dash cam. You have all of those elements. It showed if you call GPD, we’re going to let kids be kids.
We now have the hashtag #HoopsNotCrime.
LET: Are you a basketball fan?
BW: I was always extremely athletic. I played ice hockey and baseball. Basketball was the only sport I was never good at. I’m still terrible at it. But, it’s the most popular sport on the street with the kids. It’s the perfect opportunity to get out there and interact. I’ve probably become a better basketball player in the past 8 years because I’ve played more basketball than the first 38 years of my life.
In response to supporters, White decided to go even further. On February 23, GPD with #HoopsNotCrime dedicated a new basketball court built in the backyard of one of the original kids in the video. Harlem Globetrotter Buckets Blakes helped dedicate it and played some ball. White also unveiled the Basketball Cop Foundation. The goal is to renovate and build basketball courts in communities throughout the U.S. White used his unintentional fame to ask people to pay him back by getting behind the foundation and supporting it. The Basketball Cop video now has more than 100,000 million views. If just one percent donated fifty cents, White explained, he would have half a million dollars. That’s a lot of courts.
White wants to be able to send a message to law enforcement agencies telling them to go out in their communities and find projects and he will send them a check. “Let’s start repairing that perception and changing the perception that people have of American police,” he says.
“You help the kids and you’re building the reputation of the police. You’re changing the perception around the world.” White is changing the world because he chose to dunk instead of punish. ■
Michelle Perin has been a freelance writer since 2000. In December 2010 she earned her Master’s Degree in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Indiana State University.
