Street racing and “takeovers” are getting more prevalent and more dangerous. As such, many cities are cracking down on these activities. While most cities are putting up intense speed bumps, redlight cameras, and other defensive measures, the Houston Police Department is doing something a little differently. A group of street racers was recently arrested, and in an effort to keep things civil, the racers asked the cops if they would be willing to race them. The cops said yes. 

Can you race cops? 

According to CarScoops, around Houston, there are some police officers who are willing to throw down. This wild situation began in a small town just outside of Houston called Baytown, Texas, with a population of around 2,000. A street racer named Randy Seals had just won three unsanctioned street races only to have his luck run out by getting arrested. 

“Every racing enthusiast from around the area and out of state comes to this race. This is usually some street racing after that. I went street racing and raced three rounds, winning all three rounds. When I pulled back to my trailer to load up my vehicle, everyone around me started yelling, ‘Cops, cops, cops.’ They had 10 police cars suddenly there.”

“We found out that police had a drone and two undercover police officers in the crowd… I went to jail, and the guy I raced went to jail. The HPD Union guys put my picture and videos on Facebook for all the world to see. When they started trolling us, I said, ‘Hey, we have a car. Do you want to drive it in a race against us?” Seals said.

It’s not what you think 

Seals wants to be clear that he and his friends don’t hate the police; they just love racing. “We are not cop haters,” Seals said. “We just want them to be just as enthusiastic in this race as they were in posting the videos of our street racing. We are just going to have fun.” 

Interestingly, the local police had a cool attitude about the whole thing. After asking the officers if they wanted to race, on a legal and sanctioned race track, of course, the police were into it. “We want people to come out to see us race. We are doing this in a good, wholesome spirit,” said Ken Nealy, first vice president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union.

Not only were the police sincerely interested in building a bridge between the street racers and the department, but they also made it a public event and even sold tickets to the dirt track. 

Blue Bonnet News reported that the event was open to the public. BBN said, “Street racers will go head-to-head with Houston police officers on the 105 Speedway, a dirt track located at 1288 Fostoria Road, in a spectacular race as drivers attempt to gain the lead in souped-up Crown Victorias.”

Making matters even more interesting, the two undercover officers from the busted street race were the ones racing and were masked to keep their cover. 

We need more of this

Stories like this help humanize both the Police departments and the criminals; in this case, the alleged criminals are street racers. Either way, it helped to douse the heat on an enflamed relationship between the two groups. Maybe more cooperation between the police and the ones being policed could help heal certain relationships in our communities.