Ocala Police Department's 'We Do' Community Campaign Hits 19 Million Views

The Ocala Police Department in Florida launched a social media campaign that has racked up more than 19 million views on Facebook, with officers crediting it as a way to humanize police work and boost recruitment.

Corporal Alexandria Blackman, Officer Clayton Brown, and Officer Sean Price appeared on Fox & Friends Weekend to discuss the campaign. Officer Price described the motivation: "Social media, being able to bring light, especially since like 2020 and all that stuff happened, being able to bring a positive light to the police department, being able to take the serious side away from work, showing that we do have personalities."

The campaign's most recent video, set to Usher's "Daddy's Home," uses familiar dating-app scenarios to showcase officers doing their jobs. The video asks "Does he open your door?" alongside footage of an officer escorting someone into a patrol car, "Does he listen to you?" paired with an officer taking a statement, and "Does he answer your call?" alongside a team member responding to an emergency — each answered with "We do."

Cpl. Blackman called the public reaction positive, describing it as "a way for us to show who we are outside of being serious." She added: "It's a nice way to connect with the community and for them to see a funny or a lighter side of us."

Fox News characterized the strategy as "genius" in its headline, but the reporting did not include pre- and post-campaign recruitment numbers. Whether viewer engagement has translated into measurable hiring gains is not answered by available sourcing.

The second source submitted for this story — from NBC Miami — is a June 14, 2023 article about Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic misplacing his NBA Finals MVP trophy after Denver defeated the Miami Heat. Jokic told ESPN's Malika Andrews, "I really don't know" where the trophy was, saying he last left it with equipment manager Sparky Gonzalez. The trophy was later located and ready for the Nuggets' championship parade. That article has nothing to do with the Ocala Police Department and appears to have been included in error.

The recruitment claim — that the campaign is boosting hiring — is asserted but not quantified in the available sourcing. Department name and officers are now on record. The numbers are not.