Editing Shaquille O'Neal (section)

===Law enforcement===
O'Neal maintained a high level of interest in the workings of police departments and became personally involved in law enforcement. O'Neal went through the [[Los Angeles County Sheriff]]'s Reserve Academy and became a reserve officer with the [[Los Angeles Port Police]]. 
On March 2, 2005, O'Neal was given an honorary [[United States Marshals Service|U.S. Deputy Marshal]] title and named the spokesman for the Safe Surfin' Foundation; he served an honorary role on the task force of the same name, which tracks down [[sexual predator]]s who target children on the Internet.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2005/05/25/shaq/index.html?cnn=yes |publisher=Sports Illustrated |title=Going undercover -Shaq helps task force track Internet sex predators |date=May 25, 2005 |access-date=August 10, 2005 |archive-date=May 27, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050527054921/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2005/05/25/shaq/index.html?cnn=yes |url-status=live }}</ref>

Upon his trade to Miami, O'Neal began training to become a [[Miami Beach, Florida|Miami Beach]] reserve officer. On December 8, 2005, he was sworn in, but elected for a private ceremony to avoid distracting attention from the other officers. He assumed a $1-per-year salary in this capacity.<ref name="policeoff">{{cite news |url=http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/10397089/ |title=Shaq sworn in as reserve police officer |agency=Associated Press |publisher=NBCSports.com |date=December 10, 2005 |access-date=March 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081029062839/http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/10397089/ |archive-date=October 29, 2008 }}</ref> Shortly thereafter, in Miami, O'Neal witnessed a [[hate crime]] (assaulting a man while calling out [[homophobic]] slurs) and called [[Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office|Miami-Dade police]], describing the suspect and helping police, over his cell phone, track the offender.<ref name="policeoff" /> O'Neal's actions resulted in the arrest of two suspects on charges of [[aggravated battery]], assault, and a [[hate crime]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.justnews.com/news/5244919/detail.html |title=Second Man Arrested After Tip From Shaquille O'Neal |date=November 3, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714110415/http://www.justnews.com/news/5244919/detail.html | archive-date=July 14, 2009}}</ref>

In September 2006, O'Neal took part in a raid on a home in rural [[Bedford County, Virginia]]. O'Neal had been made an "honorary deputy" by the local sheriff's department. O'Neal was not qualified as a SWAT officer.<ref>{{cite book |last=Balko |first=Radley |title=Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces|publisher=PublicAffairs |date=July 9, 2013 |pages=288–289 |chapter=Chapter 8: THE 2000s- A WHOLE NEW WAR |isbn=978-1-61039-212-9}} Kindle Location 5188</ref>

In June 2008, the [[Bedford County, Virginia]], and [[Maricopa County, Arizona]], sheriff departments revoked O'Neal's special deputyship after a video surfaced of him rapping about [[Kobe Bryant]] and using racial slurs.<ref>{{cite web|last=Sidener|first=Carrie J.|title=Bedford severs ties to Shaquille O'Neal|url=https://newsadvance.com/news/local/bedford-severs-ties-to-shaquille-oneal/article_27d6fb92-6214-55e4-b9dc-1ae74cc8169e.html|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=NewsAdvance.com|date=June 25, 2008|language=en|archive-date=July 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715063734/https://newsadvance.com/news/local/bedford-severs-ties-to-shaquille-oneal/article_27d6fb92-6214-55e4-b9dc-1ae74cc8169e.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=June 24, 2008|title=Sheriff wants Shaq's badges back after Kobe rap|url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=3459208|access-date=December 28, 2020|website=ESPN|language=en|archive-date=November 9, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109043102/https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=3459208|url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 20, 2015, O'Neal was sworn in as a reserve officer for [[Doral, Florida]]'s police force.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12202263/shaquille-oneal-becomes-reserve-police-officer-south-florida | title=Shaq becomes reserve police officer in Florida | date=January 21, 2015 | access-date=May 31, 2022 | archive-date=May 31, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531162012/https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/12202263/shaquille-oneal-becomes-reserve-police-officer-south-florida | url-status=live }}</ref> In December 2016, O'Neal was sworn in as a sheriff's deputy in [[Jonesboro, Georgia]], as part of [[Clayton County, Georgia]] Sheriff's Department. O'Neal holds the county record of Tallest Sheriff's Deputy.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ajc.com/entertainment/shaq-now-sheriff-deputy-georgia/IUtfx4XZY7BxQDApqJcjzH/|title=Shaq is now a sheriff's deputy in Georgia|last=Brett|first=Jennifer|newspaper=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|access-date=December 6, 2016|archive-date=December 6, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161206162917/http://www.ajc.com/entertainment/shaq-now-sheriff-deputy-georgia/IUtfx4XZY7BxQDApqJcjzH/|url-status=live}}</ref>