It all started when police officer Bobby White responded to a noise complaint from a Gainesville, Florida, neighborhood on Jan. 15. Once White approached the scene, all he encountered were a handful of kids playing basketball in the street — and instead of getting in their faces, he started shooting hoops with them.
And after his department caught wind of it, the video from White’s dashcam went viral. Turns out one of the viewers was NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal — and he wanted to meet White and help further his cause.
But the first order of business was surprising White, which the retired star did easily after showing up — all 7-feet, 1-inches of him — at the department Saturday. “You’re much taller than you look on TV,” one officer was heard saying amid the starstruck rows of cops.
But the real surprise was waiting at the neighborhood where White played basketball with those kids. This time a big group of officers went along for the trip, too, and while White waxed on to the kids that he returned with some “backup” —