Shaq Undercover?!

[Annie]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050526/ap_on_sp_bk_ne/bkn_o_neal_undercover

Undercover Officer Shaq Is on Patrol Thu May 26, 7:47 AM ET



He's Shaquille O'Neal, basketball star and undercover officer.

The 7-foot-1, 325-pound Miami Heat center, who has a fascination with law enforcement, was recently sworn in as a U.S. deputy marshal. He spent six hours on a Saturday afternoon with Miami Beach police investigators helping with cases.

O'Neal has joined a Department of Justice task force that tracks down sexual predators who target children on the Internet.

He is becoming familiar with the techniques and software that officers use to track down the predators, said Miami Beach Police Chief Don De Lucca. And he spends countless hours on his home computer, logging into the police network and learning the ropes.

"I put a lot into it, and when I am done playing, I plan on going undercover and then being the sheriff or chief of police somewhere, either Miami or Orlando, I don't know yet," O'Neal said recently.

After being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to Miami, O'Neal contacted Miami Beach police about becoming a reserve officer. He drops by the department regularly for one-on-one instruction, speaks to De Lucca at least once a week, and is a few training hours shy of being certified to make arrests, conduct search warrants and carry a .40-caliber pistol.

"Everyone knows the love I have for the people who defend the streets and the people who defend our country, the armed forces, the Army, Navy, Marines. I want to do something like that, help the community," O'Neal said. "I want to really learn the business."

O'Neal has been interested in law enforcement since he was a teen. He was raised by a stepfather who was an Army sergeant. Two of his uncles worked in law enforcement.

While playing for the Lakers, he went through the police academy and became a reserve officer with the Los Angeles Port Police.

During the 2000 offseason, he rode along with the Orange County Sheriff's Office in Florida. They recovered three stolen cars and made a handful of arrests.

"Shaq's interest in police work is very real," De Lucca said. "He'd be a great undercover guy.

"Obviously, we're not going to send him out to buy dope, but he can do surveillance, he can do Internet crimes. He has an incredible thirst for information, he's street-smart, and he's a communicator and leader. I just hope it's not my job he comes after, or I'm in trouble."

 

[Johnney]

"I put a lot into it, and when I am done playing, I plan on going undercover and then being the sheriff or chief of police somewhere, either Miami or Orlando, I don't know yet," O'Neal said recently.

yeah riiiighhhhttt.

let me think. thats like wako jacko going undercover (no pun intended). im sure no one would recognize him

 

[insein]

even if he didnt have one of the most recognizable faces in the world, how is a 7'5", 315lb man going to be "undercover" anywhere?

 

[theim]

well the undercover part would probly be posing as an internet guy, trying to get some kiddie porn or something like that.

 

[Comrade]

I think he must have an Elvis complex. Next on the list for Shaq:

1. Run off with a pre-teen lover.
2. Grow fat and do a lot of drugs.
3. Keel over dead on the toilet, with your pants hanging down your legs.
4. ...?
5. Profit!

 

[Joz]

even if he didnt have one of the most recognizable faces in the world, how is a 7'5", 315lb man going to be "undercover" anywhere?

Exactly. I'm sure he blends in in most any crowd.

 

[no1tovote4]

yeah riiiighhhhttt.

let me think. thats like wako jacko going undercover (no pun intended). im sure no one would recognize him

I watched a video of them turning him into a fat white man with long blonde hair with makeup and costume nobody would recognize Jacko in that getup unless they watched him being costumed.

Now the whole over 7 foot thing would create a large problem. But if you saw a 7 foot tall asian guy with pink hair would you think Shaquille?

 

[Shattered]

Shaq's about as easy to conceal as Jabba The Hut at a pizza eating contest.

 

[GotZoom]

I'm sure he won't "go out" on the busts....

but.....

I am trying to picture all 7 foot 1 inch, 315 pounds of him hunched over a computer passing himself off as a little girl or little boy.

That could almost be a Saturday Night Live skit.