BU, BC Police face off in lip-sync challenge submission

The Boston College Police Department vs. Boston University Police Department lip sync battle made CBS’s list of top 30 first responder lip sync challenges. The 10 departments with the most votes will get the chance to travel to Hollywood to perform in a live CBS entertainment special, Lip Sync To The Rescue, which will broadcast later this year.

The video was posted on BC’s YouTube channel in August and includes BUPD Lieutenant Patricia Murphy and BCPD Lieutenant Jeff Postell going head to head. The video ends with BU mascot Rhett the Boston terrier and BC mascot Baldwin the Eagle waving their hands together in a crowd of BU and BC police officers to the tune of “Sweet Caroline.”

Jeffrey Postell, the BCPD lieutenant of patrol services, wrote the original script for the video, and said no one expected the video to be chosen by CBS.

“I don’t think any one of us back in August of last year would have ever thought that our video would have made it to this point,” Postell said. “For us, it was an opportunity to humanize our police officers, our profession, to show a lighter side to things in a world where things are a little tense from time to time.”

Lieutenant Patricia Murphy of the BUPD said she also never thought the video would go all the way to a national competition.

“I think it’s absolutely fantastic,” Murphy said. “It was really fun for our department and also BC Police. We didn’t think that it would ever come to this level, so we’re just really excited.”

Postell said when he came up with the idea to get BUPD involved, he wanted to not only amp up the rivalry, but also showcase Boston unity.

“I said, ‘wait a minute, we’ve got BU three miles down, there’s a huge rivalry. Who doesn’t love college sports and college rivalry?’” Postell said. “We’re seeing all these lip sync challenges. Well, you know what, forget the challenge. Let’s do a battle, and then let’s come together at the end for what Boston stands for.”

Murphey said Postell and the rest of the BCPD had already planned the video out really well when they reached out to her and that all BUPD had to do was show up.

“It was a lot of fun, a lot of laughs by the officers and it was just really good camaraderie all around,” Murphy said.

The competition for the CBS vote is steep, Postell said, but he thinks the idea for a BU-BC face off gives them an edge.

“We’re up against some tough competition,” he said. “There are some real good videos. But then again, I think ours is really unique.”

“It’s more than just a title,” Postell said about winning the competition. “We want to go out to Hollywood and represent everything Boston is … and to, you know, make the community proud of us.”

Emma Collins, a sophomore in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said she liked seeing the police departments portrayed in a more light-hearted manner.

“It was fun to watch,” Collins said. “I hope they get to go to Hollywood. It would be cool to see our police in a live lip sync showdown.”

Rebecca Ayers, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she was very entertained by the video.

“When Rhett and Baldwin the Eagle are in the boat together — that made me laugh,” Ayers said.

Ellie Nolan, a sophomore in the College of Fine Arts, watched the said she loved the creativity that went into the video.

“I loved the filters they used and the editing,” Nolan said. “I think it was such a good idea.”