BOB GABORDI

Dancing and lip sync challenge for Brevard deputies? Yep! They're pretty good at it, too

Bob Gabordi
FLORIDA TODAY

The following is political commentary and opinion:

Ladies, I have some bad news for you.

Motor Deputy Erik Botsford is married and, according to his boss, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, happily so.

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and K-9 Junny lead off the department's "Eye of the Tiger" video for the lip sync challenge being done this week by law enforcement agencies across the country.

Deputy Botsford emerged, if you will, as a fan favorite in the BCSO viral video lip sync challenge going on among police departments across the country. The sheriff's office "sang" the punchy theme of "Rocky" — "Eye of the Tiger."

What’s the lip sync challenge? According to CBS News, it all started in Texas. CBS News said Bexar County Sheriff's Deputy Alexander Mena “kicked off the challenge last month with a simple video, never expecting it would lead to full-scale productions.”

Well, kudos, Deputy Mena. The challenge has gone viral for all the right reasons.

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Our men and women who pledged to serve and protect are shown in the videos having fun and engaging with their communities. Some of these videos have to be breaking the internet. They are hilarious and very entertaining.

The BCSO video, for example, had been viewed some 1,468,000 times by Friday afternoon. It has been shared on Facebook more than 15,000 times, drawing hundreds and hundreds of comments, most of them favorable and a few … well, I wondered if Deputy Botsford actually blushed when reading some of the postings from local women.

“Where does Officer Muscles & Tats patrol?” Sunny Chauncey posted. “Asking for a friend … Who speeds … Or whatever it takes.” That post had more than 200 likes.

How about this one?

“Don’t tell my husband, but I’m going to try to get pulled over by a motorcycle cop tomorrow,” wrote Jackie Kappes. That one had more than 500 reactions and dozens of comments.

I certainly won’t tell, Jackie. But you can find her comments and hundreds more on this link: facebook.com/BrevardCountySheriff

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Sheriff Wayne Ivey as "Rocky" in the departments latest video.

You’ve got to believe the good-natured interaction between the law enforcement agencies and citizens was exactly what was hoped for.

Ivey says there is the added benefit of team building — everyone in the video volunteered, including the group known as the Chain Gang. That’s right: Actual residents of the Brevard County Jail danced playfully on the BCSO video.

Not everyone was happy that BCSO used actual prisoners in the video, but I’m not really sure why. What’s wrong with law enforcement officers and their prisoners having some fun together? Next thing you know they’ll start seeing each other as real people, for goodness' sake.

“Everybody volunteered and members of the Chain Gang signed releases,” Ivey pointed out.

Credit for the scripting of the BCSO video goes to Cheryl Sink and Lindsay Deaton, the sheriff said. So none of the work was done outside of the department. 

Police departments across the country are challenging each other to produce the videos and see which ones get the most views. At the same time, they're showing a little personality, becoming more human, and that is a very good thing.

Cops shouldn’t be viewed as scary. Good citizens and law enforcement officers are on the same side. Maybe showing police as real people can relieve tension in times of crisis. Maybe it can make a bad situation a little easier to deal with.

I love searching the net for the various videos from across the country. They're very good and funny.

My favorite is the Norfolk (Virginia) Police Department's rendition of Mark Ronson's "Uptown Funk.” A lot of other people must agree. Headed into the weekend, that video had more than 50 million views.

Which is not to take anything away from our locals, who did a great job with their own video.

And for those wanting to meet Deputy Botsford, he works out of the Canaveral Precinct. But I wouldn’t try speeding through there when he’s on duty. Sending an email might be a little safer — and dignified — for everyone involved.

Gabordi is executive editor at FLORIDA TODAY. His direct dial number is 321-242-3607 and cell phone is 850-591-2229. He is @bgabordi on Twitter and /bgabordi on Facebook. You can also find him on LinkedIn. His email address is bgabordi@floridatoday.com.

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Brevard County Sheriff deputies rock their jazz hands at the conclusion of the video.