After so many heartbreaking stories of deadly encounters with law enforcement, it's nice to see a more positive outcome from a meeting of police and teens. According to the Washington Post, an officer in Washington, D.C. dealt with a fight not with guns and threats but with some slick dance moves.
Police responding to a call on Monday night broke up a fight between teenagers, but when the responding officer asked the remaining teens to leave, Aaliyah Taylor, 17, started playing music off her phone and dancing. The officer laughed and said that she had way better dance moves. And then she proved it!
A video posted to Facebook shows the officer and teen bringing their best moves, right there on the sidewalk. According to the text on the post, the two struck a deal that whoever lost the dance-off would leave.
So basically I was trynna get to this girl but the police told me to go home so we made this deal if i win u leave but if u win I step andddddd she step ?✌?️
Posted by Adore Liyah on Tuesday, October 27, 2015
The dancing duo agreed to call it a draw, but it seems to have been a victory for both. “Instead of us fighting, she tried to turn it around and make it something fun,” Taylor told the Post. “I never expected cops to be so cool. There are some good ones.”
That’s a heartening thing to hear after a year in which we seem to have only heard about heartbreak. In the aftermath of Michael Brown, Freddie Grey, Sandra Bland, and many others, the gulf between police forces and the communities they are meant to protect feels huge. But seeing these two find common ground on the dance floor helps remind us that it’s not as overwhelming as it seems.
Community policing: You’re doing it right.