Township officers Dave Hibbert (left) and Myles Randolph with one of the lost dogs whose situation went viral. Social media comments paid more attention to the men than the canines.
Deptford police unexpectedly went viral on two occasions recently, as two seemingly ordinary posts about lost dogs got massive attention online.
The first post on Sept. 16 featured officers Dave Hibbert and Myles Randolph posing with Bark Twain, a dog found on Good Intent Road. According to Sgt. Robert Jones, who handles the department’s social media pages, the post got more than one million views, along with thousands of humorous and lighthearted comments that brought attention to the officers’ looks.
“Lord have mercy,” posted Zahra Naeema. “I’m gonna have a broken tail light tomorrow, and I’ll be doing 50 mph in a 25 (mph zone) on Clements Bridge Road around the bend heading to Sam’s Club. I won’t cooperate, so you’ll have to use your hands – I mean handcuffs.”
A second post on Sept. 22 got more than 600,000 hits and showed two canines with a group of six officers, one of whom got a kiss from the animals. It also drew compliments about the officers’ looks.
“I’m starting to think someone is losing dogs on purpose just so you’ll have to post thirst traps,” commented Cheryl Ingro. “I mean found dog posts.”
“What handsome fellows – and I don’t mean the dogs,” noted Jacqueline Gibson. “I will be speeding by Good Intent (Road) shortly lol. Good job guys.”
Posts likes the canine messages are intended to help bridge the gap between the police department and the community, according to Jones.
“We try to engage with our followers pretty regularly,” he said. “Unlike other departments, we allow comments on our posts. I just think folks were taken by surprise with it and they’ve been positive and robust with us.
“Having that sense of humor shows us that they (the officers) are people,” he added. “They chose their path and we try to show the human side to our officers.”
The posts led to an increase in traffic on the police department’s social media and helped push out more information to more people. They also helped the two missing dogs get reunited with their owners.
“When we have important things to share, posts like these helps us get information out more quickly,” Jones explained. “We appreciate all the folks that follow and share our posts. We wouldn’t be as effective without them.”
