BUFFALO, New York (PNN) - July 31, 2017 - In the land of the free, playing football in your neighborhood street can be a criminal act which can often be met with terrorist pig thug cop force. Children in a Buffalo neighborhood were about to experience what playing football looks like in a police state - that is, until Officer Patrick McDonald showed up to the call. Time and again, we’ve seen children held at gunpoint for walking home from a basketball game or assaulted for riding a bike. However, this story is different and it shows what a positive effect a compassionate officer can have when he uses his discretion while policing.
“I joined them for a couple of downs, and as you can see it’s taken on a life of its own,” McDonald said about the video which has since gone viral after being posted on social media this week.
“I’d just like to think that any other officer would have done the same thing that I did, and I bet there’s others who probably have,” he added.
The videos even got the attention of Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, who called the episode “community policing at its best.”
Even after the officer was done playing with the youths, he engaged in humor as he pulled off in his cruiser. What could have been a terrible situation involving the arrest and assault of juveniles ended instead with a community coming together.
When cops choose to use discretion instead of the escalation of force, everybody wins. Officer McDonald has set the bar for other officers who may or may not be so likely to oblige.
This is what community policing looks like.
