Viral dancing cop ‘exemplifies’ CPD’s community engagement

April 4, 2018

WDEF News,

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — The video of Chattanooga’s own dancing cop has been seen all over the United States. And now Officer Ampthor is the poster child for community engagement.

Dance Break!
2 minutes that will brighten your day.@ChattanoogaPD officers were invited to an Easter Egg Hunt in East Lake Courts and this happened. @wdefnews12 pic.twitter.com/1P4xPJU1zg

— Amber Worthy (@AWorthyNews) April 2, 2018

“He ain’t getting out of dancing, I don’t care what he say.” Lashona Smith told News 12’s Amber Worth Sunday. ” We’re going to go viral this year.”

And viral it went.

News 12’s video has been shown on Fox and Friends, CNN, Anderson Cooper, and countless local television stations, including Nashville, Atlanta, Detroit, Phoenix and Albuquerque. All have shared and laughed with more than one million viewers on Facebook.

“I honestly don’t know what to think,” Officer Michael Ampthor said. “For me it’s just another day serving the community.”

This wasn’t the first time Officer Ampthor wowed the community with his killer dance moves. His talents were discovered last Easter.

“That was the song they picked last year,” Officer Ampthor said. “It was one of those dances I knew how to do and they all seemed to love it. And they wouldn’t let me forget it. So when I came back this year, they were very adamant that we had to play that song again.”

This is just one way the Chattanooga Police Department tries to engage with the Chattanooga community.

“Officer Ampthor is the epitome of what we look for to communicate to the citizens of Chattanooga what their police department is,” Chattanooga Police Chief David Roddy said. “Who we are, how we act, how much emphasis we place on relationships and trust and just being ourselves with members of the community. That’s just an outstanding video example of what we try to exemplify every day.”

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You heard the chief. Start stretching.@ChattanoogaPD @ChiefDavidRoddy @AWorthyNews pic.twitter.com/B3v9v79ujn

— Angela Moryan(@SidelineStormer) April 4, 2018

And for those who want to be a Chattanooga Police officer, you better dust off the old Dance Dance Revolution.

“We do not require dance classes in our academy, but I have a feeling in the future it may be a preferred ability. So any future applicants of the Chattanooga police department, I would recommend you start stretching and maybe pay attention to what’s timely right now,” Chief Roddy said.