Maybe there’s some truth to the stereotype that cops love donuts, as a Houston police officer was recently filmed doing donuts in an empty parking lot this week. Houston, Texas rarely sees snow, so when an officer saw an empty parking lot, they took advantage of the break-in calls to break the cruiser loose.

Hamon Brown, a local, broke out his phone to film the officer. “Y’all, look at HPD, man. Look! They’re out here doing donuts, man,” Brown said over the viral video.

“They just spinning out, having fun, doing donuts. So, I’m like, ‘What?'” he told FOX.

Another bystander filmed two officers in a different lot doing donuts in another lot, with the other officer watching from afar. Jadier Richardson filmed it, saying, “I thought it was pretty cool, honestly. I’m like, you don’t see that every day… They’re having a little fun.”

Drivers blasted the officers for highlighting a double standard

Brown and Richardson’s videos went viral on social media when they were posted, even attracting the police department’s social media team.

However, Brown couldn’t help but note that there’s a double standard behind the laughs and smiles.

“They didn’t want nobody on the roads, but they out having fun,” he said. “But if we do it, they’re gonna pull us over and take us to jail or write us some citations for it. I mean, that just ain’t right.”

When KPRC reporters showed residents a video of a civilian doing donuts, the responses were largely positive. With many saying it was “cool,” or “looked like fun.”

When the same people were shown the videos of police doing donuts, their demeanor changed.

Houstonians said it was “irresponsible”

“You have a duty as a public servant, so you need to be vigilant and responsible,” said a driver, who remarked a civilian doing it “looked fun.”

A woman said it was upsetting that the officers would set a poor example.

“It’s pretty sad,” she said. “You’re not setting a good example. And I feel like he would come after people if he saw people doing that.”

Only one driver said the officer doing donuts was no different from a resident doing so.

“I mean, it’s the same thing,” he said. “It’s not busy, it’s snowy out, just let them have a little fun.”

Donuts can actually be healthy, though

Several driving instructors encourage drivers to practice winter driving techniques in an empty lot. Dustin Piggott, a Service Manager at Subaru of Bend in Oregon, said it can make people better drivers.

“Take your vehicle to a large open lot and test your skills, knowing how your car reacts to turning sharply and trying to stop when it is slippery is something that can help build confidence and skill when driving in winter conditions,” he told The US Sun.

In Texas, doing donuts in an empty lot is only illegal if it’s available for public use. If it’s a private parking lot, police legally can’t cite drivers for letting the back end loose – snow or otherwise. In a public lot, a Texas officer can cite a driver for reckless driving.