Kids in one Gainesville neighborhood got not one, but two special surprises this week. And the second was just a little bit larger than the first.
Earlier in the week, the Gainesville Police Department received a phone call from a resident complaining about kids making too much noise. When Officer Bobby White arrived on scene, he found several kids playing basketball in a street.
"You believe someone's calling to complain about kids playing basketball in the street?" he asked a boy holding a basketball. "I don't know who called, but obviously, I ain't got no problem with it," White told the kids.
Officer White was recently dispatched to a call of kids playing basketball "loudly" in the streets. In the evening. Having fun. Not committing crimes. Let's see how he handled it.
Posted by Gainesville Police Department on Thursday, January 21, 2016
White spent a few minutes playing with the kids. As he is leaving, White tells the boys he might be back and bring a few other officers with him to play some ball. The video has now been viewed over 14 million times on Facebook.
When 7-foot-1-inch, former NBA all-star Shaquille O'Neal caught wind of the complaint and the officer’s now-viral response, he decided to make a trip to Gainesville and personally meet Officer White.
Shaq even visited the neighborhood for a pickup game with the boys. “These kids will never forget the day Shaq rolled up to their house to play ball,” the department wrote on its page.
Well, Shaq surprised us and dropped by GPD this afternoon. He saw our viral video and wanted to meet Officer White. ...
Posted by Gainesville Police Department on Saturday, January 23, 2016