New Zealand’s Police force issued a challenge to law enforcement departments across the globe on May 2.
The New Zealand Police uploaded a video to its official recruitment Facebook page showcasing some dance moves.
Using the #runningmanchallenge hashtag, the Kiwi law enforcement agency challenged 10 police departments across the world to participate in what has become an Internet craze.
The video has been watched over 8.2 million times since its upload. Its shares total almost 89,000.
As of May 4, the Queensland Police Service, the Australian Federal Police, the Isles of Scilly Police, and the NYPD were the only agencies to have responded.
Queensland authorities bet the New Zealanders couldn’t do the dance in their “jandals”—slang for flip flops.
Sergeant Colin ‘Dad Dance’ Taylor of the Isles of Scilly force—a tiny department of an archipelago off the Southwestern tip of the United Kingdom—replied saying that their “modest team of five and occasionally a cat” and their combined ages of “over 300” make their dance moves outdated and their bodies ill equipped to appropriately responding to the “gauntlet” that is the “Running Man Challenge.”
By May 6, the number of participating law enforcement agencies has tripled, and the agencies challenged have quadrupled.
The officers of New South Wales presented an ‘exquisitely choreographed’ rendition in front of Manly Cove, a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
Police Scotland was quick to respond and added classic Scottish flair to their video. Standing in front of Edinburgh Castle, the Scottish officers danced to the tunes of a bag piper, and even pulled out some traditional dance moves. They even passed on the challenge to their cadets.
London officials got in on the action, and further challenged the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who have yet to respond.
Sussex Police featured a runaway “criminal” in their dance video.
The Australian Federal Police had an officer dancing in a full anti-bomb suit, resembling some sort of juggernaut.
Australia’s Northern Territory Emergency Services video even features crocodiles. That’s right, crocodiles.
Even a police force from Finland participated, further challenging agencies across Finland and in Estonia.
Arguably, the best response to the New Zealand Police’s challenge still appears to be the NYPD’s. Enlisting students of Brooklyn’s Public School 23, the officers danced in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan skyline dominating the background.
However, a Bronx, New York FDNY emergency medical technicians team has given New York’s Finest a run for their money with their eclectic version. Their video features CPR, a gurney, a horse mask, and some fly dance moves.
The Running Man Challenge certainly looks like it will become the next “Harlem Shake,” as the Victoria Police have hinted at the possibility of an upcoming video.
The dance craze was started by two New Jersey high school students, Kevin Vincent and Jeremiah Hall, who appeared on The Ellen Degeneres Show.
Popularized by US college athletes and NBA and MLB professional players, the trendy dance has been popping up all over the internet since Hall and Vincent’s original video was uploaded four months ago.
The music that always accompanies the challenge is a segment of a song by the 1990s hip-hop group Ghost Town DJ’s and is entitled “My Boo.” You can listen to the tune below.
