KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Following the St. Patrick’s Day parade on Tuesday, police took the crowd by surprise when more than 40 officers broke into a flashmob and danced in the middle of the street.

Their dance of choice was the ‘Electric Slide’ and a crowd of hundreds in Westport stopped to watch, and some even joined in. Most laughed and cheered while others captured the action on their smartphones.

FOX 4 tracked down the two officers who initiated the flashmob, who said it was a silly idea they hoped would show the community police are people, too.

“I think when you dance with somebody, when somebody comes out and dances with you or sees you dance, you’re instantly humanized,” Officer Matt Tomasic said. “And it breaks down the barrier of this uniform; this uniform that was designed to intimidate.”

One observer told FOX 4 she delighted in the fun.

“I thought it was awesome. The cops get a bad rap, so it was nice seeing the cops doing something nice and fun,” Mona Warren said.

The officers said they didn’t have time to rehearse, but felt like they impressed the crowd with their moves when they heard people cheering.

Watch the video from KCPD’s YouTube page here: