Top the Cops™ and help save lives
3Every year, Bay Area law enforcement agencies participate in the Top the Cops™ program as another way to help save young lives and keep the streets safe.
"We pass the message to the high school students: don’t race out on the streets where it’s totally uncontrolled", retired officer and founder Kevin McKinnie explains, "You can lose your driver’s license. You can lose your life or someone else’s. Come out here on a Wednesday night and its safe".
Top the Cops™ is part of Sonoma Raceway’s Drags and Drift program. High school students are invited to race against Bay Area law enforcement officers in a legal and safe environment.
"The whole point about Top the Cops™ is trying to get the kids and the people off the streets to go race at a controlled environment, to be safe and secure with their cars", high school junior Payton Gray reveals.
The program also creates a unique opportunity for young adults and officers to connect and talk about safe driving.
"The first time you usually meet a police officer as a new driver is when the red light comes on in the mirror" McKinnie shares, "that’s kind of negative so I got the idea: let’s make it positive".
"There is a bridge that has to be crossed in order for them to participate and to race us, they’ve got to talk to us and we got to talk to them", Fairfield Officer Jarriod Mack explains.
28 years later, the program’s mission and message are still making a difference.
"The kids come out here with a big smile on their face and they tell me that they don’t race out on the street. They look forward to coming out here", McKinnie says.
"When they’re done here, they go back to their respective schools and tell all their friends what a good time they had", Mack shares." and they come back with more friends".
"They’re just thrilled to do this. It’s a lot of fun and a lot of gratification to hear that", McKinnie adds.
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