Recruitment, Retention, Resilience, and Rhythm: A Conversation with BJA and the Dancing Cop (Archived Content)

Growing up in a high-crime neighborhood and troublesome household, Anthony “AJ” Johnson knows firsthand how a lack of trust and understanding between law enforcement and the communities they serve can be difficult for everyone. He was as surprised as anyone else when a single positive interaction set him on a course to become a police officer — and changed his life for the better.

Now an officer of the Columbus Police Department in central Ohio, Johnson advocates for community policing and the benefits of recruiting officers from the places they will serve. Their cultural competency and understanding of the community build trust and compassion. And, as he says, the positivity has a snowball effect for the community.

Karhlton F. Moore, Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance, sat down with Johnson to hear how he overcame the challenges of his childhood, learned the power of positive police interactions and mentorship, and came to share a positivity-driven approach in the community he now protects and services. Johnson also shares the story behind his nickname, “the Dancing Cop,” which went viral and led him to giving a talk at Harvard University.

Watch the full video to hear Johnson’s story, and read highlights from the discussion:

Recruiting officers from the community supports successful community policing efforts

_{“You should become a police officer and go back to the area in which you were raised and just be a light in that community." - Officer Anthony “AJ” Johnson}

Johnson shared that based on what he knew from people around him and from the narratives in music and television from the 1980s and 1990s, he grew up hating police. Even after helpful interactions, such as police interventions when there was a murder next door or when his father was abusing his mother, he didn’t trust law enforcement. One day when Johnson was a teenager, a man approached him at the gym to give some tips. But Johnson didn’t thank him.

“I was completely rude to him, cussed him out. That night, I thought about it and I'm like, you know, ‘This was the one light that I had in this very dark world. This was the one person that went out of his way to be positive and kind to me. And what was my response?’ So I made it a point to go back to the gym that next day hoping that he would be there. He was. I apologized. He took me under his wing, like, right there on the spot. The man who became Johnson’s mentor was a police officer, which forever changed Johnson’s perception of the police and what he could do with his life.

“We are our best recruiters, you know. It took one positive police interaction to forever change my life.” Johnson notes the ripple effect this can create. “And there are now so many police officers that credit them being police officers to the work that I've done, and them seeing me on social media or have their conversations with me. And that all comes from that one positive police interaction that I had,” said Johnson.

Humanizing communities—and officers—helps to create safer communities and better policing

_{“I've got so many stories of people who absolutely hated the police and now have multiple police officers' personal phone numbers in their phone they could call 24 hours a day. And it's all because they see them as a human.” - Officer Anthony “AJ” Johnson}

Before Johnson became known as “the Dancing Cop,” he enjoyed posting pictures of his interactions with the community. He thought it was important to show fellow officers ways to participate in their communities, and to show the public a positive, human side of police. His message to fellow officers was, “Hey, you could get out of your car and play basketball; play rock, paper, scissors with the community. It doesn't always have to be an enforcement action.”

On patrol with his partner, Johnson came across a backyard barbeque with kids and music and dancing, and decided to drop by. When a song came on that had a trendy social media dance, he danced along with the kids.

“Unbeknownst to me, the woman whose house it was, she recorded it. And she put it on social media and it blew up. I mean, the video went viral. The next day, all the local news stations are calling me, the local paper, they're calling the radio stations. Somehow they got my personal phone number, they're calling me, ‘Hey, can we set up an interview?’”

Then Johnson learned more about why his participation at the barbecue was meaningful. It was a welcome home from prison party for the host’s brother. "And here I am, a police officer, in his backyard, dancing at a welcome home from prison party. So it was just super impactful...”

Johnson emphasized the importance of creating an environment where community members see officers as fellow human beings throughout the conversation. “When they see me racing a kid down the street, when they see me playing rock, paper, scissors, it's, like, my uniform isn't on anymore, it's like, ‘Oh, it's just AJ. It's AJ being AJ.’” said Johnson. He added, “the moment they see me as a human being, it's easy for them to go, ‘Well, AJ ain't perfect. AJ's going to make mistakes. AJ is going to have to be the enforcement side of law enforcement sometimes. And his partner's kind of cool. He introduced me to his partner.’ And it's just a snowball effect of, like, positivity.”

Watch the full interview to hear Johnson’s story and the impact of recruiting officers who have grown up in the communities they protect and serve.