New Zealand police challenge the world to a 'Running Man' dance-off; NYPD responds

The Running Man dance craze has reached New Zealand and now, a group of foot-loose local police have challenged their international counter-parts to a dance-off. And the first to respond are New York's men in blue.

A video featuring uniformed officers showing off their moves was posted on the NZ Police Recruitment page on Facebook along with a message challenging Victoria Police, New South Wales Police Force, Western Australia Police, Queensland Police Service, South Australia Police, ACT Policing, Tasmania Police, LAPD Headquarters, Isles of Scilly Police and NYPD to bring their A-game to the dance floor.

"We catch people on the run every day, this was a new #runningmanchallenge for our team," the post read. The video is part of the department's recruitment drive and has already earned over 5 million views, more than the total population of the country.

Now that global law enforcement departments have been challenged, other police forces are stepping in to prove that they have got better moves, the first being the New York Police Department (NYPD).

"#‎RunningManChallenge accepted, NZ Police Recruitment! For the NYPD version we brought some backup from PS 23 in Brooklyn," the NYPD captioned its own video which was shot in front of the Brooklyn Bridge and included some local school children as well.

They also extended the challenge: "Are you up for it, New York City Fire Department (FDNY) Boston Police Department (Official) and Police Scotland?"

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton is probably getting his troupe in formation and posted his response on Twitter saying, "Nice effort @nzpolice - leave it with us." Queensland police added, "Bet you can't do that in jandals?"

Isles of Scilly police commended the NZ police's effort, but backed out of the challenge stating a shortage of dancers. "They can draw on a supporting cast of thousands of officers and staff whereas we have a modest team of five and occasionally a cat," they wrote of their Facebook page. "Our combined age on this small rock in the Atlantic (including feline years) is over 300."

The Running Man dance was popular in the 1980s and resurfaced as a social media trend in 2016 after a video of US Basketball players dancing to a 90s pop song went viral.