A Washington, D.C., police officer challenged a teenage girl to a dance-off, holding her own as the two did the "Nae Nae" dance.
A female officer arrived to break up a fight in a park on K Street SW Monday afternoon when she saw 17-year-old Aaliya Taylor dancing to the popular Silentó song "Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)," Aaliya said. The girl said she usually fears officers and was surprised by what the officer said.
"As I'm stepping off, I started to dance and then the cop was like, 'I could do better,' and I was like, 'OK, you want to challenge me?'" the senior at Ballou High School said. "I was in shock."
The officer – whom the Metropolitan Police Department declined to name – matched the girl step for step as onlookers laughed and cheered.
Aaliya said the encounter changed how she thinks about police.
"She gave me a hug and she was like, 'What's your name?' and she was smiling," Aaliya said. "I was like, 'Oh yeah, we need more cops like you.'"
The teen later posted a video of the dance-off on Facebook, where it's been viewed more than 279,000 times in less than 24 hours.
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D.C. police confirmed to the Washington Post that the officer in the video is with their department.
"DC has innovative ways to keep our community #saferstrongerDC," Mayor Muriel Bowser tweeted Wednesday afternoon. "A @dcpolicedept officer even did the 'Nae Nae.'"
