Sydnae Townsend, the second-year school resource officer for Tanner Elementary School, recently captured the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people on Facebook due to his impressive dance skills, exuberant energy and inherent knack for joy — and all in the line of duty.

Since it was posted on Friday, Aug. 9, the short 34-second video of Townsend grooving to the hit song “Friday,” by Rebbeca Black, during the school’s drop-off car line, has garnered more than 350,000 plays and 2,500 likes on Facebook.

“It was definitely unexpected, that’s for sure,” Townsend told The News Courier on Monday, Aug. 12, when asked about the viral reaction to the video online.

Kandye Jones, Tanner Elementary School’s new principal, noted that she was the one who sneakily filmed the clip and put it on the school’s Facebook page.

“Not for me,” Jones said. “We do car line together, and when I turned around and saw him I thought that would be a very positive moment that others needed to see. Anytime I can show off some of the positivity here at Tanner I will, and he is definitely a positive for us.”

Jones noted that the video has been shared online by the likes of State superintendent Eric Mackey and meteorologist James Spann. Those were just two of the more than 1,000 shares on Facebook that have sent the popular video to screens across Alabama.

Townsend said that the overwhelming reaction caught him so off guard because he dances like that to the students everyday at school. He also said that he won’t be stopping the tradition anytime soon.

“I really do enjoy it, I love being here and seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces from doing it,” Townsend said. “I know a lot of the kids don’t get to go home to a loving environment, so it’s definitely important for me to keep this up. I just want to be able to distribute that positivity back out into the community — my home community — because this where I’m from.”

As a graduate and alumni from the Tanner School System, Townsend hopes that he can be a bright light for the students at Tanner Elementary. As an active deputy for the Limestone County Sheriff’s Office, Townsend emphasized that all of the students he is sworn to protect can also accomplish any dream they set out for themselves.

“I’m very proud to have Sydnae here, because he is a great positive male role model for my students to have,” Jones said. “He’s here because he chooses to be here, and the connection that he has with the students is amazing. I’ve worked at a lot of school’s in my career, and he is already one of the best SROs I’ve worked with.”

Jones not only noted the extra-sense of security he brings to all the faculty and staff at the school, but she gave many examples of how he has constantly put their safety over his.

Limestone County Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin also emphasized the character of Townsend as a standout resource for his department to utilize.

“The video that everyone saw was just a piece of Sydnae; what they don’t know is that he is like that every single day,” McLauglin said. “It’s who he is and has always been that way. He does a great job at building relationships with the kids, and outside of the security and protection part of the job, that connection is really what this job is all about.”

As for Townsend, he said he lives by that innate positive aspect of life, mentioning his faith and joy for keeping him going everyday.

“For anyone out there, just keep being yourself and be confident in what you do,” Townsend said. “Sometimes you can get down, but always try to have a positive outlook on life. The main thing for me has also been keeping God first, and living your best life.”