Students Erupt in Excitement as Officer Dances to Beyonce During Pep Rally
The high school gymnasium was in an uproar as the lieutenant got "in formation."
-- A high school gymnasium was in an uproar last week, when a police officer got "in formation" during a pep rally in Virginia.
"Being called a celebrity was never really the goal," Lt. Deuntay Diggs told ABC News. "I feel like I'm just a regular person trying to do some positive in the community and help inspire others to go in the right path. In my mind, I'm having fun with the kids and the faculty and I never thought it would take off like this."
Diggs, of the Stafford County Sheriff's Office in Stafford, Virginia, said he was asked to dance with the students at North Stafford High School, where his fiancee teaches, at their Oct. 14 pep rally, after a video had gone viral of him dancing to Beyonce's "Formation" at a police charity event.
Diggs is also a motivational speaker known in his community for tackling issues of race, sexuality and diversity.
While he didn't plan on performing Beyonce again, Diggs said there was a lull during the high school event, which gave him the opportunity to surprise the teens, who screamed in excitement.
"Talking with the principal [and] some of the kids at the pep rally, [we were] worried the kids weren't engaged enough, but at that point, [there was] all this energy and excitement in the room," he said.
Lino Romo Reyes, a senior at North Stafford High School, said there was a "good vibe" in the gym that afternoon.
"I was pretty surprised that he danced well enough to the Beyonce 'Formation' song," Romo Reyes, 18, said. "He really did slay the performance."
After Diggs' performance, Romo Reyes said the students ran on the basketball court in excitement.
Diggs said the love he received from the kids couldn't have come at a better time, since he had received news of his mother's terminal cancer just days before.
"Dealing with my mom, I was feeling down and being with the kids in the gym in was an amazing moment," he said.