Video of police officer dance off is a hit

Sure, Kansas City police can look mean with their uniforms and guns, but they also help kittens.

Police are using social media to convey a sweeter side of officers, they reported today to the mayor and city manager.

“They help …a kitten every day but no one knows about it,” said Sarah Boyd, of the police media unit.

During the unrest over the police shooting in Ferguson, Mo., Kansas City police put out a video of an officer doing a dance off with a kid.

That got mega hits and some people thought it was staged, but not so, said Boyd.

A citizen shot the video and sent it to the police, she said.

She tries to use Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to show the human and helpful nature of police, she said.

During a World Series game, they tweeted for people not to commit crimes and to drive safely because they wanted to hear the Royals.

They started using social media in 2009, except for Facebook which just started in July, Boyd said.

They now have 52,700 subscribers on Twitter, which is fifth in the nation for police departments with 1,000 or more officers.

Among followers are young people, including a lot of urban core youth, she said.

They get to know police as something other than threatening and are more willing to assist them, she said. “These are people who can help us find suspects.”

So social media contribute to the goals of crime prevention and reduction, Boyd said.