North Carolina cops respond to slip-and-slide complaint, end up joining in
ASHEVILLE - When Asheville Police Department senior officers Carrie Lee and Joe Jones answered a noise complaint and reports of a slip-and-slide in the middle of a neighborhood road, they found no laws being broken.
That's when the officers decided a little impromptu civic engagement was in order, and took the giant waterslide for a spin.
Or perhaps they were just looking to cool down. "Oh man, it was so hot," said Lee, who has been on the force for nearly four years.
"When it's hot, and you're responding to a street complaint, and there's a fun way to cool down you take advantage of a giant slip and slide," The Asheville Police Department said on Facebook.
Residents took video of the officers and posted it on Facebook.
The video shows the officers romping with the 10 or so kids who were just "being kids," Lee said. They were also under adult supervision, she added.
Lee wasn't surprised to find the slip and slide was not set up in the middle of the road, but rather safely set up along the side.
People tend to exaggerate, she said. And most people are also smart enough not to play in the middle of the street.
"But I honestly was impressed with the magnitude of the slip and slide," Lee said. "I looked at my partner Joe, and said 'I'm good with it.'"
Rather than bust up the fun, Lee asked a neighbor to give her a trash bag so she could test the slide herself. "They didn't believe me, but I said 'No, I'm serious.'"
The trash bag wasn't the quickest way to get down the hill. Her 6-and-a-half-foot partner fared a bit better.
"They ended up pulling out a big two-person tube for him because he obviously wouldn't fit in a trash bag," she said. "He's a large man, so he got some speed."
Christina Hallingse, public information officer for the Asheville Police Department, said the department was "over the moon" about the coverage.
While the public display of police officers having fun was spontaneous, she said the department has a number of officers who interact with the community on a regular basis.
"It's not always caught on video, but it's not uncommon," she said. "Though this might be our first slip-and-slide officer."
In one of the clips, Lee uses a trash bag and propels herself down the slip-and-slide, while in another clip, Jones is pushed down the slip and slide in a tube.
"Officers Joe Jones and Carrie Lee enjoy a refreshing moment with some kids in Oakley," the agency wrote on Facebook.
Neighbor Katlen Joyce Smith told ABC News the whole party was shocked when the police officers asked to join in.
“When the female officer asked for a garbage bag, we almost didn't believe it. But she took off her radio and went for it! ,” Smith told ABC News. “They told us to have a great day, posed for some pictures and thanked us for the fun!”