A Florida cop live-tweeted his shift last night on Twitter, which included bar brawls, saving a man's live through CPR and a donut break.
Boynton Beach police officer Ron Ryan tweeted his shift in a bid to use social media to better connect with residents. Ryan tweeted under the @bbpd username with the hashtag #ridewithBBPD.
Boynton Beach is a city of 60,000 with the biggest crime being gang trouble. Indeed, Officer Ryan tweeted a picture of a loaded gun he had seized from a traffic pullover last night.
Ryan also praised the 'excellent' dispatch team he worked with, a colleague who saved a man using CPR and joked about taking a donut break.
The live tweeting got an excellent reaction from Twitter users, with a retweet from Debbie Casperton reading: "This is awesome! Look forward to your tweets. Keep up the good work!" and Katie Ellis tweeting: "You are cracking me up. This is a great idea! Thanks for sharing your night with us."
Laurie Stevens, a social strategist based in Massachusetts, also praised the idea.
"Having an officer on shift tweet is highly unusual. It's a relationship, it builds trust and connections within the community, its old-fashioned community policing with a new-age twist."
Boynton Beach says that Ryan won't be the last officer to share his shift, and they hope to eventually have an officer tweet a live shift every day. They say it humanizes officers and engages the community.
To follow the cops on the beat, follow them on their Twitter account here!
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