Piano-playing policeman praised in Czech Republic
- 15 December 2013
- From the section Europe
A Czech police officer who was filmed playing a piano while on duty has been lauded by the chief of police for boosting the force's image.
A 30-second mobile phone video of the performance has been watched nearly 800,000 times on YouTube.
The policeman had taken a break to sit down at one of the pianos placed around central Prague for public use.
Still wearing his bright green reflective vest, he rattled off a few bars of a South Korean composition.
Police chief Martin Cervicek said the clip of the officer playing River Flows In You, by the South Korean composer Yiruma, had done more to improve the image of the force than anything he himself would ever achieve.
The young traffic policeman only joined the force six weeks ago but it is fair to say he is now the most famous officer in the Czech Republic, the BBC's Rob Cameron reports from Prague.
Mr Cervicek said he had spoken to the officer, whose name has not been released, and wished him the same success in his police career.
A superior had spoken to the new recruit about what he could and could not do on duty, he added, but the piano-playing policeman was not formally disciplined.