VIDEO: Deputies play basketball with Houston kids
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- The Kidd family pastime is shooting hoops.
"We play a lot, almost every other day," said John Kidd, who plays with his two kids.
They have a portable basketball goal. The street out front of their house is their court. On Sunday Kidd's son and one of the neighbors were playing b-ball when they spotted two deputies.
"Some kids they seen us and they go, 'There goes the police," said Precinct 4 Deputy Marco Scott.
"We got out and spoke to them and they looked like, 'Oh. Are we in trouble?'" said Deputy Jimmy Evans.
"I didn't know what they was doing. I thought they were going to ask, (to) see what was going on," said John Kidd.
The deputies did ask the kids something.
"'You all mind if we play?' And they were shocked," said Deputy Evans.
So it began, two against two. John Kidd captured the game on his phone between his son, another neighborhood kid and the deputies. Kidd said the men with the badges came with some serious skill.
"They came out here tough. I said, 'This isn't a real game,' and they said, 'Well, we're going to make it real,'" Kidd laughed.
The deputies brought more than a good game, they brought heart.
"When the police is actually helping the children and stopping by, they're showing that they care and they're actually bringing the community together instead of separating the community. If we had more of that I think we would be a better place," said Kidd.
"We do have feelings. We do have feelings. We do care how people see us. This is really how we feel. This isn't something that we're portraying. This is really how we feel," said Deputy Evans.
With a score of ten to six, the deputies took home the win.
"We did win. They were quite shocked," said Deputy Scott.
A rematch is already on the books.
"They're going to come back and give them another chance," said Kidd.
"Definitely, we'll be practicing. I've got to get in better shape," said Deputy Evans.
The deputies hope to stop by later this week for that rematch. This is the first time they've joined in on a basketball game but say they stop and talk to kids all the time.
They said it's really been effective is connecting with the community, getting information and even solving cases.
