Video of a Southern California police officer playing hopscotch with a homeless girl while a fellow officer tries to find housing for the child and her mother has earned thousands of views and heaps of praise.
Police found the 11-year-old and her mother living out of a car while investigating the report of a suspicious vehicle at Graham Street and Edinger Avenue in Huntington Beach, authorities said.
While Officer Scott Marsh spoke with the mother and contacted the department's Homeless Task Force, Officer Zach Pricer tried to make the girl's morning a bit brighter.
Pricer distracted the girl by playing hopscotch while Marsh and the mother discussed "adult problems," according to the Huntington Beach Police Department, which posted video of the game Wednesday.
The girl is seen giggling as Pricer jumps through the pattern, at one point losing his balance. Pricer ends the game with a high-five "after displaying his expertise in hopscotch," the department wrote on Facebook.
The video and post — which ends with the hashtag #Copslovehopscotch — had received more than 312,000 views by Thursday morning.
"Officers interacting with the public in a positive way brings a lot of positive attention," said Huntington Beach Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Marlatt.
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"It shows the personal side of the PD," she added.
