Bath Township police play joke on public with 'Po Po' decals on cruisers

BATH TOWNSHIP -- The staff at Bath Township Police Department don't want to take their jobs too seriously.

Follow the department on Facebook and it shows.

A message and accompanying photo posted Saturday has gone viral with thousands of responses. It was reported nationally by Fox News.

"Our philosophy is to just humanize us and let people know we like to have fun," said Avery Lyon, the township's public information officer.

The online frenzy started after officer Michael Lapham, decided to have some fun with Microsoft Paint and a photo of a township police cruiser's unpainted doors.

Lapham used the program to add the words "Po Po" — slang for police — to one side of the dark blue sports utility vehicle.

The responses came in quickly.

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, the post drew over 6,700 reactions, 2,700 shares and 649 comments.

An excerpt of the department's message with the doctored up photo:

"We've found though, that we are still struggling to really reach the younger folk out there. So in an effort to bridge that gap, we've decided to update our patrol car graphics in an attempt to be more relatable to the local youths."

RELATED:

Police use videos, wit to grow Facebook followers

Meet Lansing's new Internet star

Officers take own 'hot cops' selfie

Lyon, 26, said township police's Facebook page has grown from 100 followers to about 30,000 over a three-year span.

Last spring, officers' staged video of a motorist asking for his ticket to be dismissed that drew over 116,000 views.

The Facebook page is monitored closely by three administrators in the department who have undergone social media training.

They follow a program created by the Rosenberg (Texas) Police Department but don't hesitate to go a bit off script.

With nearly every post comes multiple responses to followers who may ask questions, heap words of praise or unload with angry rants.

“We learn each day we make a post," Lyon said.

Will Holley, 39, of Washington D.C. enjoys the police department's creativity and stumbled upon the Faecbook "po po" post in a group for Air Force security forces members.

Holley, an Air Force veteran, didn't know Bath Township exists until he saw the photo and read its message.

“I love the fact Bath Township replies back," Holley said. "That makes it even funnier."

The Urban Dictionary defines "po po" as "a police officer, especially the ones that ride on bikes."

The term, according to the dictionary website, dates back to the late 1980s in California.

The dictionary said officers were first seen around that time patrolling beaches on bikes with vests that said "PO" in block letters on their chests.

Eric Lacy is a reporter for the Lansing State Journal. Contact him at 517-377-1206 or elacy@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @EricLacy.