Halifax officer makes cameo in Miley Cyrus music video thanks to #HaliCop meme

HALIFAX – A Halifax police officer who has touched many Canadians is popping up in paintings, movies, video games and even a Miley Cyrus music video thanks to a transformative online hashtag.

A photo of a Const. Shawn Currie sitting on the sidewalk with a busker has captured the hearts and ‘likes’ of thousands of social-media users since being posted on Thursday.

After hundreds of reposts and shares, the photo has mutated into an online meme under the hashtag #HaliCop.

Photoshopped creations insert a reclining Currie into all manner of fantastical scenarios — taking in The Starry Night by Vincent van Gough, casting a spell in Harry Potter, or being stacked in an all-Currie game of Tetris.

Twitter-user @CaptSwiggy had Currie swinging into Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” video.

Rayleen MacDonald crafted a Disney-inspired portrait of Currie as Aladdin on a magic carpet ride. “Halicop can show you the world,” she tweeted with the photo.

In a meta-take on the #HaliCop phenomenon, 12-year-old Luke Sullivan paid homage to previous viral photo of Currie. In the reimagined photo, Currie writes a fake ticket for himself — taking the place of a three-year-old boy who was “illegally stopped” on his plastic motorcycle last year.

Halifax Regional Police has embraced the community officer’s social media celebrity. The force announced that Currie would pick his favourite creation on Monday, with the winner receiving a travel mug signed by the #HaliCop himself.

“Well, Twitter. You never let us down,” the police tweeted. “We’re cry-laughing … (and) super impressed (with) your photoshop skills!”

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A version that moved May 28 incorrectly identified a busker as a panhandler.