MANCHESTER, NH – Since taking charge of Manchester Police Department’s Facebook page, which launched in August of 2015, Officer Casey Siegel has tried to keep things upbeat, informational and fun.
So over the weekend he decided to capitalize on the popularity of the Pokemon Go! app craze by cleverly advertising that the rare Charizard character was in the Manchester Police Department booking area. He invited the “lucky ones” whose names appeared on the linked list of names to come by HQ to capture the elusive Poke Prize.
Here’s the punchline: The link took Pokemon players to the department’s current Wanted List.
Nicely played, Officer Siegel.
The Facebook post has since gone viral. The story was picked up by the Associated Press and continues to pop up on news outlets around the country, with more than 32,000 likes, 15,000 shares and nearly 4,000 comments, so far.
Siegel says he likes to follow other police departments on social media, and especially admires the Bangor, Maine, Facebook page (population 32,000+; Facebook followers, 168,000+) which has garnered attention as one of the funniest law enforcement social media pages going.
It may be a hard act to follow, but Officer Siegel’s on a roll.
This isn’t the first time MPD’s Facebook posts have shown that, aside from being honored nationally for their many policies, achievements and professional benchmarks, Manchester Police Officers also have a sense of humor – like the time (party animal in) Chief Nick Willard was featured doing the Whip and Nae Nae dance at a youth’s birthday party, which has gotten more than 62,000 views on Facebook.
Willard appreciates Siegel’s efforts to reduce the ranks of Manchester’s most wanted, even though, so far, nobody’s fallen for it.
“It was meant to be funny, but I’d love it if someone who is wanted by MPD showed up to capture the ellusive Charizard,” Willard said.
Or as Ash from Pokemon always says, “Gotta catch’em all!”
