SOLEDAD — Soledad Police Department put its singing and dancing skills to the test with a Lip Sync Challenge video released Oct. 17.
The Lip Sync Challenge has been occurring across the nation, and officers with the Soledad Police Department had been sending the videos to each other and to Chief Eric Sills.
“People on our police Facebook page were asking if we were going to do it and I didn’t know how to respond,” Sills said. “How do you do something like that?”
One of the sergeants asked Sills if he wanted to participate in making a video, and Sills said yes, if the video was used for recruiting police officers.
The next step was finding a cinematographer. Jason Camp, a local resident, took on the challenge and worked with Soledad Police for about six weeks to film at various locations throughout the city, such as the high school and the Soledad Mission as well as local farms and vineyards.
The Lip Sync Challenge video, which is on YouTube, features Chief Sills and local police officers and sergeants, as well as includes a section with the Soledad High School Dance Team and Soledad Warrior cheerleaders and football players.
To complete the Challenge video, Soledad police officers volunteered personal time.
As of Oct. 21, the video has more than 20,000 views and includes a mashup of music from country to Latin music and even pop.
View the video below.