Detroit officer takes time to play with neighborhood kids

Whenever an officer puts on the uniform, they never know what the day will bring. For one officer in Detroit, his decision to go above and beyond the call is making a world of difference in one neighborhood.

"I looked out my window and seen a police car and I wondered was there a problem. And I looked out there and seen him playing with the kids and I say, 'Wow, what a pleasant surprise!'" says Peter Ball.

Sometimes it's better to prevent crime than to fight it.  On the west side of Detroit, near the corner of Snowden and Fenkell, one Detroit police officer is doing just that without even trying.

"The kids were just talking to him, and they were asking him questions and the cop was just answering; just doing a lot of community engagement," says neighbor Chieaka Warren.

"We did five push-ups and then we raced down the street," one neighborhood boy told us.

The look of the face of the kids and Officer Darren Weathers says it all. This simple act will likely have a lasting effect on everyone involved, even those who were simply there to watch it happen.

"That is a tremendous thing to be doing at this time because our young people have such negative attitudes about police, and this is just what we need," Ball says.

The encounter lasted but a few minutes. A quick push-up, a foot race and then a basketball game. Not caught on camera, though, was the real winner in all of this -- the City of Detroit.

"This is the beginning of a good change for our city," Ball says.

"To Chief Craig, thank you to you and your officers that are actually trying to get involved with our community. We appreciate that, and if we can see this more often that would be great."

FOX 2 tried to reach Officer Weathers, the one seen in the cell phone video interacting with the kids, but he wasn't available when we first reached out.

He did share the video on his own Facebook page and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.