http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/13365360.htm The Miami Heat's Shaquille O'Neal is set to step up his assists -- on arrests, that is. The seven-foot-one superstar was sworn in as a Miami Beach police reserve officer Thursday morning, in a private ceremony in the police chief's office that included no audience, no uniform, and no fanfare -- just like Officer Shaq wanted it. He had skipped the department's public swearing in, held just an hour before, because he was concerned about the media attention. ''Officer O'Neal is very considerate toward the other officers, and he was afraid if he was there he would have taken away from that moment for other officers,'' said police spokesman Robert Hernandez. ''This is a very special time for them and their families.'' Reserve officers can do just about everything a full officer can: carry a gun, wear a badge, and make arrests. They also get a uniform, though O'Neal will likely wear his specially tailored version very little -- his celebrity status makes it impossible for him to work on the street without drawing a crowd. O'Neal has spent the past year training for the reserve officer position, which pays $1 a year. Before moving to South Florida, he was a reserve officer in Los Angeles, when he played for the Lakers. Miami Beach's tallest officer is most interested in the smallest victims: He will work in the special victims detective unit, where he can focus on crimes against children. He was working in the plainclothes detective unit in the hours before his swearing in, as he has regularly over the past few months, and he went back to his work right after. ''He made it clear when he decided to come to Miami Beach that he didn't want to just be a poster boy for photo ops, he wanted to get down and dirty and do the job,'' Hernandez said. ''He's here to conduct investigations and to make arrests.'' Officer Shaq didn't wait for his badge to do so. In September, he witnessed a man throw a bottle and yell anti-gay slurs at a passerby. O'Neal followed the man and helped an officer bag the hate-crime suspect. Said Hernandez: ''Without Shaq, we probably would have never caught him.'' (LOL I Can't wait to see his first arrest.)
Hmm...Anyone else think there will be a few idiots who will do something stupid in front of him intentionally so they can be the first "Officer O'Neal" arrest (get on camera and stuff)? Should be interesting
