The Surrey Mountie captured on camera shooting hoops with a group of children over the weekend says he was trying to show that police are just like everyone else.

Const. Brenden Vogt, who has been with Surrey RCMP for nearly a year-and-a-half, says he and his partner Const. Mike Toll were in the neighbourhood for another investigation when he saw the group playing a game of pick-up basketball.

After they finished their work, Toll offered to work on the paperwork and allow his partner to hit the court.

"I'm a hockey guy," Vogt said. "I tried not to embarrass myself too much."

The kids all say they had misgivings when Vogt first walked over, but quickly warmed up to the idea of their new teammate.

"I thought we were in trouble," said Jakob Celso, one of the boys involved. "He came over and asked, 'Can I play?'"

Despite the age and size advantage, Vogt took a backseat and looked to dictate the flow of the game.

"My teammate there, he seemed to be draining almost every shot he was taking. I recognized he was the shooter so I thought I'd stick to passing," Vogt said, adding he wished he was able to stay longer.

The boys say they were surprised a police officer would be willing to take the time out to play with them.

"It was really fun and awesome," said Kalel Dizon, one of the boys involved. "It was really surprising."

Vogt's work on the concrete court was praised by Dizon's father Ereen.

"It was really cool to see (him) take the time out for the kids," he said.

But Vogt says he saw the moments he spent as just another aspect of the job and hopes the kids are able to see the positive side of police.

"It's good to have kids see the other side and see that we're people too," he said. "We don’t want people to think we're there for bad stuff."

He points to how the children all thought they were in trouble when they first walked over as "unfortunate" and how surprised they were by his willingness to take time out to hang out with them.

"It's been nice to see how something like a fun little game of 10 to 15 minute basketball can leave such a good, positive interaction."