Dancing For Doughnuts: GA Tech Cop’s Dance-Off Caught On Video

ATLANTA — Robert Rodriguez has under no circumstances taken himself significantly plenty of to maintain him from remaining himself.

The 30-12 months-outdated officer with the Georgia Tech Law enforcement Department has always fancied himself a bit of a dancer, and so when he arrived across a fellow dance fanatic Friday, Rodriguez wasn’t concerned to bust out a handful of moves. Tiny did he know that his impromptu dance-off with a great stranger was remaining caught on video clip.

The video clip was posted on the department’s social media channels and has been preferred, shared and even earned Rodriguez, a Brooklyn indigenous, his good share of virtual doughnuts. Rodriguez, who has been with the Georgia Tech Law enforcement Department for about 3 many years, is using all of the attention in stride — just like any dancer worth his salt would.

“Occasionally, I just randomly do dance moves,” Rodriguez advised Patch in a telephone interview Monday. “It really is just a thing I do on my have time typically.”

He added: “I’m generally going to be myself. If I would have known it was staying recorded, probably I would have been a little hesitant to do it. But as considerably as getting spontaneous and having pleasurable, that is what I pleasure myself on.”

Friday’s dance bash came at the conclude of a situational training session that Rodriguez was just finishing up with fellow officers. He stated he came across someone who occurred to be dancing across the avenue on a close by sidewalk, so Rodriguez provided up his individual moves before leaving to set his teaching products absent.

When he returned five minutes later on, he discovered the stranger however there dancing. So, still unaware that the total episode was staying recorded, Rodriguez engaged his fellow competitor for a second time.

Rodriguez works as a neighborhood outreach officer with the Georgia Tech section, so component of his work is to interact with pupils and campus companies, Rodriguez claimed. But when he got to throw his appreciate of dancing into his occupation and then have it captured on online video, that just extra to the satisfaction that arrived out of the condition.

Even with the two interactions, Rodriguez reported he by no means spoke with his dance-off competitor and only waved to him as he was leaving the scene. 3 days later on, Rodriguez continue to only is familiar with the particular person as a random dancing stranger. The fact everything was caught on video was just icing on the …. doughnut.

“It was surprising (it was recorded), but it was great simply because in many cases, a lot of officers will not get any fantastic publicity,” Rodriguez explained. “For individuals to see we’re human and that we like to have enjoyment just like any one else, it is really just genuinely nice to see that.”

Rodriguez was also appreciative of the social media reaction that came to the video on the department’s Fb site. The submit asked for individuals who favored the online video to react with doughnuts or other signs of appreciation. Despite the fact that police officers aren’t generally thrilled with the idea that associates them with the use of sweet pastries, Rodriguez did not brain at all.

“I was hoping there would be doughnuts,” he told Patch of the social media reaction. “I’d like to believe I nevertheless have a couple moves left in me. It just would make me pleased to see that folks had been participating (with the submit) and that I could deliver a smile to people’s faces.”