Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

The law enforcement veteran and InVest USA founder discusses a new strategy by the Ocala Police Department and explains why others should take notice.

These days, it seems everyone has police officers in mind for the “blame game.” Whether it’s Democratic leaders that are insistent that their budgets be slashed because of the awful “defund the police” campaign or community members who paint them in the same negative light as ICE agents, they get a lot more flak than they deserve.

But some officers are doing something about it, making an effort to reach out better with the community and show who they really are. And that includes the great team at the Ocala Police Department in Florida.

Fox News first reported on these officers just as the weekend started, making note of a campaign launched by the department that is meant to help connect better with members of the community.

The officers actually stopped by Fox and Friends to discuss the campaign, containing little video snippets of officers doing acts of good around the area.

“Social media, being able to bring light, especially since like 2020 and all that stuff happened, being able to bring a positive light to the police department, being able to take the serious side away from work, showing that we do have personalities,” Officer Sean Price explained on the program.

“These videos certainly humanize the badge, the uniform. I think that’s a really good way of doing it, because you get caught up too much in social media. There’s a lot of negative things.”

He’s not wrong. Since 2020, officers have literally been in people’s crosshairs online following the death of George Floyd. As a result, budgets have been slashed and thousands of officers have left their positions, either via retirement or simply not wanting to do the job anymore.

But leave it to Ocala and their efforts to turn things around with their “We do!” campaign, which launched on X a while back. Featuring the song “Daddy’s Home” by Usher, the videos show officers performing small duties while asking questions, such as “Does he open your door?” or “Does he answer your call?” To which the officers respond, “We do!” And of course, they tag it with the likes of #funnycops and #weshowup.

Now, obviously, I’m sure there are a number of Democrats who would scorn something like this, believing that comedy has no place in the work of a police officer, and that the videos are misleading – and then they’ll likely make up some story about ICE agents to back up that claim.

But, honestly? The feedback from a majority of users has been positive. The community has reacted in a very positive manner, and each video has gotten more and more popular.

“With as much as it’s navigated throughout social media, with all the likes and attention we’ve got, I would just say we’ve gotten some positive attention,” Price noted. “I’d say we should have some more applications coming in here soon.”

And that’s the thing. That’s the ultimate goal here. To not only show that police officers – surprise! – are actual human beings that care about their community, but to also motivate others to show them that the job, while certainly with its fair share of challenges, isn’t a “dead zone” like some will have you believe.

That’s not to say they’re going to be happy-go-lucky, mind you. They’re still cops and they’re still doing a fantastic job at it. But this campaign is definitely an effective one, especially compared to all the hate-mongering that so many people do on social media these days to slander cops and ICE agents just trying to keep our streets safe.

So here’s to you, Ocala. Great campaign here. And I’d love to see more officers take this approach to connect better with the community. That’s not to say they should take up the beachcomber life or anything – it’s important to still do your job – but this paints a much different picture than those Democratic leaders will have you believe.

Who praises campaigns such as this? We do!

• About
• Latest Posts

Michael Letts

Michael A. Letts, Founder, President, and CEO of In-Vest USA, a national grassroots non-profit organization that is helping hundreds of communities provide thousands of bullet-proof vests for their police forces through educational, public relations, sponsorship, and fundraising programs.

Latest posts by Michael Letts (see all)

• New York police officers are about to be worked to extremes – and Zohran Mamdani is to blame - July 3, 2026
• This Florida police department is using social media to better connect with community, and it’s paying off in spades - June 23, 2026
• This Florida town’s police department effectively took down a teen takeover event before it could even build steam — with a highly effective team - June 9, 2026

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.