Before Jeremy Turner became a police officer, he was a music major in college. This is what explains this glorious video you’re about to see.
“I’ve been singing since I was 6-years-old, and I went to the University of Southern Maine and have a degree in music performance,” he explained.
And while he loves to sing, his impromptu performance in a city park was actually performed on a dare from his partner while they were out on foot patrol in Old Port, ME in 2017.
“I don’t think he thought that I’d actually do it, so we went there and I went for it, and people just started gathering around, and so I kept going,” Turner said.
And boy did he do it! Luckily, it’s all on video for us to enjoy as well.
Turner can be seen belting out “O Holy Night” in a video posted to various Facebook and YouTube accounts and which has now been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. In fact, it went viral overnight.
“I feel embarrassed when I start and I feel embarrassed when I end, during the middle I’m just kind of in there singing and don’t really think about it too much,” Turner said.
A beautiful holiday song regardless of your reason for the season, “O Holy Night” is just one of those tunes that draws people’s attention – and it requires some singing chops as well!
“It’s one of my parents’ favorite Christmas songs, I’ve been singing it for years, and it’s just been kind of my go to and first one that came to mind,” Turner said.
As people gathered around, Turner got more confident, perhaps reliving his days as a music major before he became a police dispatcher and then an officer.
“You don’t see the correlation?” Turner joked about his career path.
The positive attention the video has received has been nothing but appreciated by his colleagues as well as Turner’s boss, Portland Police Chief Michael Sauschuck. He said seeing officers in a new light is good for citizens and police alike:
“It humanizes law enforcement officers at a completely different level,” he explained.
And that friendly, smiling face? That’s no show:
“That’s who Jeremy Turner is,” Sauschuck said. “That’s the real deal. He’s always smiling, he’s always laughing.”
The fun-loving officer of the law sings whenever he can, but rarely finds a reason to do it on the job. And while he isn’t discounting a future as a performer, he loves his current career:
“I can find a place to sing, if that’s still what I want to do, but this was something I always wanted as well,” Turner said of joining the force.
The video has drawn thousands of positive comments from viewers who now see their officers in a whole new light.
Turner says that he considers his job to be making the world better:
“Being a police officer you never know what kind of day you’re going to have but it’s definitely a rewarding experience when you go out there and see what you can do to help someone and try and make their day better.”
Seeing Turner sing “O Holy Night” is bound to make your day better.
This caroling cop is just too good! Watch his performance in the video below.
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