An Alabama police department chief and his officer are now on national TV after their TikTok video went viral.
With calls for defunding the police and boycotting them getting louder by the day, Anniston Police Department Chief Nick Bowles and Officer Jacob Ford came together to change people’s perception of the police through social media.
It’s clear from the video that Bowles was making his first TikTok video as he held the phone so close to his face and called the platform “The TikTok,” which made Ford correct the chief throughout the clip.
Ford then explained the purpose of creating the TikTok video saying they “started this TikTok page to kind of do a little community outreach and kind of reach out, so everybody can kind of get an inside look at what we do here.”
Never in their widest dreams did they think it would be seen by people all over the country, as of now it was viewed 348,700 times. The video was done in just one take and has got a lot of love from people from all walks of life.
Watch: Alabama Police Officers’ Viral TikTok Video
@annistonpolicedept #copsoftiktok #police #cop #fyp #anniston #funny #foryou ♬ Back In Black – AC/DC
Many rooted for the chief commenting, “Jake, let him SHINE!” Another person wrote, “Can we just stick with chief from now on,” someone else commented. “And we need more filters.” Someone else wrote, “Quit trying to dull his sparkle! He’s a peacock, you gotta let him fly!”
But in reality, it was chief Bowles’ idea to pretend he wasn’t so net-savvy. Jacob said, “His idea was, ‘Hey, I’m going to play that boomer guy who doesn’t really know what to do with the phone,’” Ford said about Bowles. “He was like, ‘I just want you to correct me constantly.’”
Bowles wanted their first TikTok video to be “relatable.” He added, “Everybody’s got that parent or child, that relationship that, you know, you need to be corrected on all these new internet things that are coming out,” Bowles said.
The department chief wanted people to see them as more approachable. “[It’s] no secret that law enforcement’s been kind of run over the past couple of years,” Bowles said. He added, “So we wanted to show everybody in the community, especially younger folks, that we’re humans just like everybody else and we have a sense of humor.”
While making the video they certainly never expected it to go viral but it just shows that people have connected with them and are showing them love. “It’s been great. I’m getting texts, I’m getting emails … We’re just going to take it as far as we can,” he said.
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