Super Cruise ride-along shows police perspective

HEATH – It doesn’t take long for the crowd to start shouting at Heath Police Department Sgt. Norman Ream.

It’s about 7 p.m., and Ream is starting his patrol for the annual Super Cruise, where Mopar and other souped-up cars parade down Hebron Road, often squealing tires and doing burnouts.

There are crowds gathered on the sides of the road — sitting in lawn chairs, on blankets or in truck beds — and they start right away:

“Boo! Go away!”

“Light ’em up!”

And, what seems to be the mantra for the evening: “Hey, cop! Do a burnout!”

Ream took The Advocate on a ride-along Saturday night, patrolling up and down Hebron Road. People shouted at the cruiser most of the night — some friendly teasing, some less so — but overall, it was one the most calm Super Cruise nights Ream has seen in a few years, he said.

Perhaps that was in part because of knocking the cruise down to one lane rather than two this year, but whatever the cause, Ream is hopeful it’s a trend that carries on.

“Last year, by the end of the night, it looked like there was fog there was so much tire smoke,” he said. This year, “as far as the crowd goes and as far as traffic, this is one of our least-packed years I can remember, for whatever reason.”

The Super Cruise dates back to at least the early 2000s in Heath. It officially was invited into the city by former Heath Police Chief Tony Shepherd in 2003, but it unofficially was taking place a few years before that, Ream said.

At first, it was a great event, Ream said. People came out and watched while cars did just what the event name suggests: Cruised. As time went on, however, the event seemed to deteriorate. The crowds got a little meaner; more and more cars joined in, doing burnouts, which are against city code; and spectators started getting reckless, moving closer and closer to the street and tossing water and bleach in front of cars to aid burnouts.

“It’s gotten worse and worse,” Ream said. “In the first couple years, we didn’t have to have everyone (from the police department) on, but it sort of went downhill quickly. ... It’s not the whole crowd by any means, but there’s elements within the crowd that are very boisterous.”

Ream isn’t against the Super Cruise as a whole — “I love the cars, I really do,” he said — but his least favorite part is when adults encourage children to yell insults or jeer at police. A 22-year veteran of the force, Ream has learned to tune out quite a bit, he said, but children are supposed to go to cops for safety, and teaching them that cops are bad might deter that.

“The biggest problem is probably the crowd reaction,” he said. “We’ll have some of the drivers we ticket that’ll get an attitude, but for the most part, it’s the crowds. They’re very anti-police.”

About 7:50 p.m. Saturday, Ream issued his first, and only, citation for the night. A white, Chevrolet pickup did a burnout right in front of him, and Ream pulled him over.

Driving to the shoulder, there were shouts of, “Hey, he pays your wages, leave him alone!” and “C’mon, Barney, have a heart!”

Sometimes, when police make a stop, the crowd will throw money into the car of the person getting cited. The crowd thinks officers don’t like that, but truthfully, they don’t really mind, Ream said — their job is to enforce the law and keep people safe, and that’s all they’re trying to do.

In 2013, police issued 30 verbal warnings and 23 citations during the Friday and Saturday nights of Super Cruise. The numbers aren’t in for Saturday of this year yet, but Friday, police only gave four tickets and five warnings, Ream said.

There’s a perception among the crowd that officers are out there ticketing everyone they can, but that’s just not the case, he said.

“We try not to be adversarial; we try not to be overly picky,” he said. “But, if someone does it sitting in front of us, if someone just really goes nuts, then that’s what we’re looking for. ... As long as they’re not acting overly stupid, we try to give them the opportunity to show off their car a little bit.”

hsparling@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8822

Twitter: @hksparling