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Community Corner

VIDEO: Police Race for Charity

County law enforcement officers raced at Ocean Speedway in the Police in Pursuit fundraiser for the Northern California Special Olympics over the weekend.

Mud flew and exhaust pipes snarled as county law enforcement officials bellowed through Ocean Speedway’s dirt track on Friday night for the first annual Police in Pursuit Special Olympics fundraiser.

Ten drivers consisting of police, sheriffs, park rangers, and parole units from across Santa Cruz County competed against each other in modified track cars adorned in sponsor stickers to raise funds for the Northern California Special Olympics.

“We have over 14,000 athletes, adults and children, with intellectual disabilities in Northern California who compete in Special Olympics,” said Doreen Roth, liaison for law enforcement torch run for the Special Olympics. “The way Special Olympics are able to do that is through donations and events such as this.”

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The race was broken into two heats with 5 drivers in each. The top two drivers from each heat went to a face off for the honor of top cop. The officers who raised the most money from sponsorships got to choose the first car.

The cars, which were donated by Ocean Speedway, squealed around the track, covering onlookers in mud and rising shouts of excitement from the officers in the center of the raceway.

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“It was incredible. It’s hard to explain it,” said Scotts Valley Police Lieutenant John Hohmann, “The speeds that you’re going and the control of that car uses every muscle in your body.”

Hohmann was the winner of this year’s Police in Pursuit.                 

“It’s one of the several fundraisers that we do throughout the year and this is probably the most enjoyable fundraiser we put on,” he said.

Hohmann said that the Scotts Valley Police Department plans to continue to participate in the event, which will continue to raise funds to train and educate athletes in the Northern California Special Olympics. 

Other participators included the Santa Cruz Sheriff's Department and Watsonville Police Department.

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