EDINBURGH, Scotland — Police Scotland officers busted some moves this week after accepting a global Running Man dance challenge from cops in New York City.
The officers can be seen in front of Edinburgh Castle doing the Running Man — with a bit of country dancing thrown in.
Like the Gangnam Style or Harlem Shake crazes of a few years ago, the challenge is a chance for departments to kick back and show a little personality. New York City's Patrol Borough Brooklyn North officers accepted a challenge Tuesday to the city's police department from New Zealand Police Recruitment.
They posted a video on Facebook that included students from New York Public School 323 and in turn challenged the New York City Fire Department; Boston police; and Police Scotland, which uploaded its version Wednesday.
The Running Man Challenge started in late April when University of Maryland men's basketball players Jaylen Brantley and Jared Nickens posted to social media a straight-faced comedic video of themselves dancing to the 1990s song My Boo by Ghost Town DJs, according to ESPN. Others in the sports world who contributed their moves included the Rutgers University football team and Missouri State University men's basketball team.
Police Scotland's version included piper Andrew Vernon, who added some Scottish flavor to its video.
"Love the fact that the pipes are in this! Well done, Police Scotland," wrote Gael A. Whelan of Glasgow, Scotland.
Now the Police Scotland have challenged London's Metropolitan Police Service; the Toronto Police Department in Canada; and the Police Scotland College in Tulliallan, Police Scotland's headquarters one of the country's officer training sites. Police Scotland College filmed its version Thursday, and other agencies are taking up the gauntlet.
"Very good, Police Scotland," the Royal Falkland Islands Police Facebook account responded after seeing the video. "In the process of organising the Royal Falkland Islands Police version after our challenge from the Isles of Scilly Police, true Kelper style, of course!!" Kelper is a nickname for Falkland Islanders, British subjects who live on a set of islands in the south Atlantic Ocean east of Argentina.
Contributing: Ryan Dunleavy, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press; Jim Connell and Rance Burger, Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader. Follow Stacey Mullen on Twitter: @journostacey
If you can't see the the embedded Facebook posts above, here are the New Zealand, New York City, Police Scotland and Police Scotland College videos without the comments:
