HALIFAX – The Halifax police officer who became a viral sensation last week has picked a winner from dozens of memes spawned by the photo of him chatting casually with a busker.
A photo of Const. Shawn Currie sitting on the sidewalk with the street performer got hundreds of reactions and shares last week – and captured the imaginations of social media users over the weekend.
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Halifax Regional Police held a contest on Twitter inviting online artists to crop the Currie’s image from the original photo and then create a meme by inserting him into famous movie moments, paintings and stills from video games.
The memes – which included images of Currie lounging next to Drake atop the CN tower and appearing among the stars in Van Gogh’s famous work, “Starry Night” – were submitted using the hashtag #HaliCop for Currie himself to review and choose a favourite.
After scrolling through dozens of creations, Currie awarded a signed travel mug to a Twitter user identified only as “Swiggy” for photoshopping him onto a giant wrecking ball in a scene from the music video for the Miley Cyrus song “Wrecking Ball.”
Currie says he’s glad to see people using social media to highlight the positive role officers play in their communities.
A communications adviser for the police says the Twitter contest is part of a years-long strategy to reveal the human side of policing through technology.
Lauren Leal says getting officers on board with the force’s social media goals can be challenging because many don’t want to be recognized for something they feel is just a normal part of their job.