Tokyo police mulls awarding officer for crowd cont

Tokyo: Tokyo Police is planning to honour a young traffic policeman for the way he used his sense of humor to smoothly direct a crowd of soccer fans, last week police officials said.

According to a senior Tokyo police official said the policeman, who is in his 20s and nicknamed "DJ police" on the Internet, helped greatly in guiding the crowd and in preventing any injuries during the street revelry, after Japan`s soccer team drew a match with Australia to qualify for next year`s World Cup in Brazil. The policeman, is a public relations officer for a riot police unit. "If you behave in such a way, you can be issued a yellow card, I don`t want to scold you on this happy day," said the policeman to the crowd at an intersection in the busy Shibuya district. "Policemen with a stern look are also delighted at Japan qualifying for the World Cup, Let`s celebrate with the spirit of fair play" he said. In response to the policeman`s call to behave well "as the 12th member" of the national soccer team, the fans cheered the officer. DJ police, a native of Miyagi Prefecture, has controlled crowds during events such as firework displays and New Year`s visits to Shinto shrines. In January, he won first place in the Tokyo police announcing contest. The policeman has also been certified as one of a few public relations officers with advanced skills. He said he was "very surprised" at the reaction to his guidance, the police officials said. The name of the policeman has not been disclosed. (Kyodo) PTI