If you saw some dancing this morning around Southlake Town Square, here’s why: Southlake DPS dropped its latest video today, featuring former Dallas Cowboys athlete Demarcus Ware dancing alongside a construction worker, a firefighter and a police officer to encourage crosswalk safety.
“We literally shot it this morning at 10 a.m. and got it edited and out by 12:15 p.m.,” Southlake DPS PIO Brad Uptmore says. “When we work with celebrities, we pride ourselves in having everything ready to go so they can be in and out and it's always nice they trust us. Demarcus was a total professional and we knocked out filming in about two takes.”
The inspiration for this video struck when football season started, Brad says.
“I've had crosswalk safety as an issue to focus on, and somehow randomly had a fleeting thought of the Village People and then was like, ‘Wait what if we could use a Dallas Cowboy instead of an actual yee-haw cowboy?’” Brad says. “Here in Southlake, there's only one Cowboy I knew that was a fan favorite, kind, and might respond — easily Demarcus Ware. So Renni Burt on the fire side tracked down Demarcus, we pitched to him and he was so eager and easy to work with.”
With this video and Demarcus Ware on their side, Southlake DPS hopes citizens “be-Ware” of distracted drivers when it comes to crosswalks.
“We just want the community and beyond to not drive distracted and for pedestrians to check, double check and triple check when crossing a road,” Brad says. “If drivers are paying attention and not speeding and not looking at their phones, then we feel like pedestrians and bicyclists can be even more safe.”