Hopscotch cop: Officer jumps to help homeless girl

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — A police officer in Southern California has jumped to help an 11-year-old homeless girl.

The Orange County Register reports (http://bit.ly/1SpQf6a ) officers found the girl and her mother living in a car in parking lot in Huntington Beach on Wednesday. Officer Zach Pricer turned to hopscotch to make the child feel more at ease.

While Officer Scott Marsh reached out to the department's homeless task force to arrange housing for the pair, video shows Pricer hopping up and back.

The 38-year-old officer explained the rules of the game to the girl, then reached down to grab the marker, causing her to giggle.

Pricer says a police officer can seem scary to a child and he wanted to make the girl feel more comfortable.