TKC EXCLUSIVE!!! BEHIND THE SCENES: MEET THE KCPD VIDEO PRODUCTION TEAM!!!

As a troll denizen of the Internets I've often wondered about the decision making process of institutions that take their message online.

Today I had a great opportunity to talk to the members of the Kansas City Police Department Video production team, Officer Shelley Gaddis and Public Relations Specialist Jim Strahle.

They're responsible for most of the videos on KCPD's Youtube Channel and a lot of the work that is broadcast on Kansas City's Channel 2. 

Believe it or not, the job comes with a bit of notoriety.



"When I'm on patrol and I make stops sometimes and I'll notice a person looking at me twice and they'll say 'I'm sure I recognize you from somewhere,'" Officer Gaddis said. "I usually have to remind them that it's probably Channel 2."

Jim Strahle speaks highly of the work of his collaborator and describes her "audition" for the role of KCPD presenter.

"I took a long, hard, look at myself on video and asked one of my superiors if maybe it wouldn't be a good idea to find somebody else younger and possibly more vibrant in order to make the videos more exciting," Strahle said. "It was then that she (officer Gaddis) reminded me that a great deal of her college education included work in broadcasting."

As always, there's a downside to taking to the Internets.

"Yes, we have had some inappropriate comments about Shelley that we've had to delete. But overall the response has been very supportive."

Strahle can't really say enough nice things about the KCPD video star.

"She's really got a great presence on screen and the way that she interacts with the public really comes through in some of the videos that we shoot."



At the forum I noticed Officer Gaddis chatting with a group of Boy Scouts and quizzing them about their favorite TV shows for at least a half an hour.

Fun fact . . . KCPD Youtube Videos have received tens of thousands of views but more than half of that number come from a clip entitled: "Why do cops like donuts so much?" The clips was linked by buzzfeed, went viral and took on a life of its own.

Future plans for KCPD Youtube videos include longer presentations and hopefully more first person interviews with the police that provide an informative glimpse inside the Department.