Crime & Safety

Local Police in Pursuit of Each Other at Ocean Speedway Event

Law enforcement agents are getting ready to compete against each other on the racetrack to benefit the Special Olympics.

Watch out, everyone. Police from across the county will be in pursuit on Friday night, but don’t worry—it’s all for a good cause.

Local police officers are coming together for an exciting event at in Watsonville to raise money for Special Olympics Northern California. The “Police in Pursuit” event will consist of a 12-lap race, pitting officer against officer as they test their driving skills on the racetrack.

Last year, more than $10,000 was raised from the competition. The money collected at this event will be used to help cover the costs of putting on the Special Olympics Northern California games.

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“This event alone is our largest fundraiser of the year,” said Lt. John Hohmann of the . Hohmann is the coordinator of all Special Olympics fundraisers the SVPD puts on, and also the person who came up with the Police in Pursuit race.

This year, one officer from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Cruz Police Department, California State Park’s Police Department, Santa Cruz Parole Office and Watsonville Police Department will race, along with two officers from the Scotts Valley and Sunnyvale police departments.

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“In order for an agency to race, they need to obtain a $500 sponsorship to have a car for their agency,” Hohmann said. This year, Scotts Valley’s will be the primary sponsor of the SVPD.

After a sponsor is found, each agency is expected to choose a driver from his or her own organization to race.

“Once you get a car, the driver is determined by the officer of the agency who sells the most tickets to the event,” Hohmann said. The officer can pick himself or another to compete.

Then it comes down to picking a car, which for some drivers is very strategic and taken seriously. The police department that collects the most money will get first choice from the roster of cars that will be provided by Ocean Speedway on the day of the event.

“Last year, it was pretty obvious that the cleanest cars, or the prettiest, don’t necessarily mean they are the fastest,” said sheriff's Detective Dee Baldwin, who was also last year’s second-place winner. “This year, maybe I will do a little more research. They are racing weekly [at Ocean Speedway], so you can see which cars are better ranked than others.”

The quality of the car is important, because many officers have very similar driving skills.

“Everyone was so evenly matched,” said Baldwin when asked about last year’s race. “Everyone that’s in this race drives for a living … so everyone in the event has really good car control.”

Police in Pursuit is Friday from 4-10 p.m. at Ocean Speedway, 2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville. Tickets are $20, with half covering the costs of the speedway and the other half going to Special Olympics.   

For more information or to purchase tickets, call the SVPD at 831-440-5670. Tickets may also be purchased from any of the other law enforcement agencies participating.


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