Birmingham officers join kids in soccer match after receiving calls to end game

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC) - After Birmingham police received a number of calls about kids playing soccer in the parking lot of a tractor equipment company on Messer Highway, they decided to join in.

"We get calls repeatedly on these guys playing and there's one person who continually calls and kind of wants us to tell them to come inside. I'm not going to do that. Ethically, I can't tell children to stop playing," Officer Jordan Burke said.

He posted a video to his Facebook page after the police department received another call earlier this week.

The video included the officers and kids playing a game of soccer. Burke's message on Facebook said the following:

"Please stop calling the police telling us to tell children to stop playing outside. This will be the result every time."

"Apparently the person that keeps calling thinks that lot is not for playing, even though one of the people who works there said it they didn't mind the kids playing out there. They don't have a playground here and the nearest playground is near the high school, which is a couple miles away. That is too far for these young guys to walk," Burke explained.

Over the past two days, Officer Burke and his colleagues have challenged these kids to countless rematches on the field. Burke said they only stop by if call volumes are low and if the kids are out playing.

"When I was a kid, I had a police officer go out of his way to come play football with us, and it made a really positive impact on my life. I hope it would kind of do the same thing for us considering most kids right now are raised to fear the police and that's not what we want. That's not what we need," said Burke.

The simple gesture has already started to make an impact on the young guys on the field.

"It's been great so far to see all the guys come out here to play soccer with us, especially now that we have more people to play on our team," said sixth-grader Chuy Cardenas.

"It's really cool because they play with us and talk to us about being good," 10-year-old Alejendro Martinez said.

This type of community policing isn't new to the Birmingham Police Department.

There have been several instances in which officers have taken a step further for the kids in the community.

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