A Garland detective built a detailed Lego replica of downtown now on display at City Hall, using creativity as an outlet and a way to connect with the community.<\/p>\n
GARLAND, Texas \u2014 A familiar Garland scene is drawing gasps and smiles at City Hall, only this one fits on a table.<\/p>\n
The detailed Lego replica of downtown Garland was built piece by piece by Detective John Capers.<\/p>\n
Visitors lean in close, pointing out landmarks as they recognize them in miniature.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s better than using a map, coming here and looking at this,\u201d said Dee Carter, a Garland mom.<\/p>\n
The model took about 150 hours to complete and uses roughly 27,000 Lego pieces.<\/p>\n
For Capers, Legos are more than a hobby. They\u2019re his creative outlet and a way to unwind from the demands of the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a barbecue place, a florist shop, a pizza shop, a guitar shop, that are pretty popular here in Garland right now,\u201d Capers said, explaining how he chose which details to include.<\/p>\n
Capers has worked financial crimes, thefts and burglaries for 26 years. He said the work can take a toll.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn our line of work, you see a lot of rough things, you have to do a lot of rough things, and that can weigh on you,\u201d he said. \u201cI think a pitfall of a lot of people in law enforcement is not having a way to have an outlet to blow off some steam. And so for me, doing this kind of thing is what worked for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t Capers\u2019 first large-scale Lego build. The downtown model follows an earlier replica of the Garland Police Department. The project carries deep meaning.<\/p>\n
Capers said he built it after losing his best friend and fellow detective, Tommy Barnes, to cancer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know that if he was here today with me, he would just be right beside me, loving this and talking about it,\u201d Capers said.<\/p>\n
The model is filled with personal touches, including Bob Ross painting near a playground, a nod to Capers\u2019 own interest in art.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was probably the most inspirational person for me learning how to paint,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Every small detail, Capers says, has a story behind it.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times, law enforcement gets portrayed in a certain negative light,\u201d he said. \u201cWe also have talents and hobbies, and when people see that personal side of us, I think that also helps with that image.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the reactions inside City Hall are any indication, the message is landing. Visitors gasp, smile and linger, taking in the tiny version of a city they know well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Garland detective built a detailed Lego replica of downtown now on display at City Hall, using creativity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[160,162,161],"class_list":{"0":"post-101817","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plano","8":"tag-plano","9":"tag-plano-headlines","10":"tag-plano-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}