SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — After a few quick handshakes, the competition was on.
"Don't dunk on me!" jokes a San Diego police officer to a Morse High School basketball player.
"I feel like we will come out with the dub," said Morse High School junior, Rayveon Bush.
"We're here for hopefully a friendly game," laughs Captain Many Deltoro with the Southeastern Division of the San Diego Police Department.
SDPD officers from the Southeastern Division played against students at Morse High School on Saturday afternoon.
"Nobody wants to just look at violence or that negative stuff in the community. They want to do positive stuff. This is a good option for cops to play. They ain't going to win," said Bush.
Community Resource Officers coordinated this first-time event in an effort to build a positive relationship with students and families.
"I think it's amazing for everybody. It's amazing for officers and also for students. It's important to have community engagement. It is important to meet, know and build positive relationships with officers," said Community Relations Officer, Chris Jones.
"It should build a good relationship with us. They are not just people out here doing bad stuff. People out here want to succeed," said Bush.
"We need more of these types of activities to show we are just regular people and show that we have an understanding and common bonds," said Cpt. Deltoro.
Between dribbles, passes and blocks, everyone involved says Saturday's game was a slam dunk.
"I know police will always be there for me if I have a situation. The police and I play against each other, but we all come as one afterward," said Morse High School student, Brandon Dimanta.
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