Thehas had a program allowing citizens to ride-along with police for years. Interest was a lot higher over this past weekend, following the killing ofandin Minnesota and Louisiana.WKSU鈥檚KabirBhatiarode along with two Akron officers on Saturday night.
鈥淚鈥檓gonnapop open your door real fast 鈥 get out if you want, but stay behind.鈥
Mike Bruvarny has been a police officer for almost two years. He looks a little like wrestler . He鈥檚 been partnered that whole time with Kyle Cunningham, who鈥檚 been a police officer for eight years 鈥 six of them in Akron -- and he looks a lot like actor . Both men are quiet and have young families; they socialize outside of work.
This past Saturday, they hit the streets just before midnight, with Cunningham at the wheel.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited you guys are out here. It means a lot, especially -- in this last week, it鈥檚 been rough.鈥
says his department usually has one or two requests each week for a citizen ride-along, but this weekend, there were 25 such requests.
鈥淧eople are concerned about their safety. There continues to be social media postings where people talk about attacking police officers. And they go out there and they ambush us and things like that; you don鈥檛 know when they鈥檙e going to come.鈥
Who rides along?
Nice says most of them were city officials who rode along as a show of support.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got the mayor, his cabinet [and] civic leaders standing behind the Akron Police Department. It鈥檚 a wonderful thing. This is a tough shift; they鈥檙e coming out on the midnight shift with the young officers, when the calls are tougher 鈥 so I鈥檓 very impressed with the city leadership.鈥
Also in our car was George Johnson, a city employee and union rep. While he鈥檚 black, and Bruvarny and Cunningham are white, Johnson doesn鈥檛 see race. He sees only support for union members.
鈥淚鈥檝e been involved in the union for 27, 28 years. I was not raised to look at things like that. Even though I do know, in some cases, race does play a role in some things that鈥檚 going on. But what鈥檚 going on right now 鈥 race ain鈥檛 got nothing to do with this. These guys here are doing their job, and we need to support them.鈥
A powder keg
Bruvarny and Cunningham say a Saturday night in Akron 鈥 especially with nice weather 鈥 can be a powder keg. In the first two hours of the shift, other units respond to two overdoses, a trend that clearly troubles Officer Cunningham.
鈥淭he last two weeks have been awful. Been awful. So they had a bad batch. They鈥檙e OD鈥檌ng. One gentleman had to have Narcan 鈥 eight doses of Narcan.鈥
On this Saturday night, Bruvarny and Cunningham spend a lot of time patrolling possible trouble spots, such as the areas south and west of Chapel Hill Mall. At one point, they pull over a pair of speeding teenagers. Later, they respond to noise complaints, as well as someone with mental health issues who frequently calls for assistance but then, Bruvarny says, pretends not to be home when police arrive.
鈥淭he somewhat bad thing about our district: we have the old St. Thomas mental institution. And a lot of the people who have been discharged, they stay up in North Hill. A good amount of our citizens do have a lot of mental issues, and when they get off their medications, they cause problems.鈥
Punctuating all that are occasional calls like one of a man with a gun in a parking lot near Emidio鈥檚 Pizza. Arriving on-scene, Cunningham, Bruvarny and several other officers found a half-dozen people, but no one armed. One young lady immediately began recording the police with her iPhone 鈥 at close range -- something which Cunningham tells us happens all the time.
鈥淵ea film us, that鈥檚 fine, but if we say, 鈥楬ey, get on the sidewalk,鈥 it鈥檚 probably for a good reason. She鈥檚 in danger, you know?鈥
Bruvarny adds, "Film all you want, but do it from a safe distance. And don鈥檛 interfere with why we鈥檙e there.鈥
The call about the man with a gun is one of several that could be potentially life-threatening for police. For much of the night, a 鈥淏OLO鈥 warning 鈥 which means 鈥淏e On the Look Out鈥 鈥 is in-place because the department has a tip that someone in a Chevy Impala was planning to target white officers. Cunningham 鈥 a third-generation police officer 鈥 says it鈥檚 all part of the job and he can鈥檛 imagine doing anything else.
鈥淚 honestly, as na茂ve as it may seem at times, I really do think we can make a difference. Treat others as you want to treat yourself. It鈥檚 a respect thing I鈥檓 gonna give you right off the bat. Until you choose to disrespect, or break the law, then I enforce it. It鈥檚 my duty; it鈥檚 my job to act.鈥
Closing time
Early in the morning 鈥 around 2 a.m. 鈥 Cunningham andBruvarnyare called downtown to the area near Canal Park. They鈥檙e among about a dozen units who arrive to keep the peace as hundreds of people -- mostly young and black 鈥 start leaving the bars. For OfficerBruvarny, this is what a typical Saturday-night-at-closing-time feels like, regardless of what鈥檚 happening in the news.
鈥淧eople here in Akron: we have a good relationship with our community. It鈥檚 never a color issue. You鈥檝e got your criminals and you鈥檝e got your law-abiding citizens. You always just gotta be on alert, no matter what.鈥
One young lady ends up in the back of a squad car for drunkenness. Keith Burnett was in the crowd. He says the police did a good job handling the situation.
鈥淚 think the police cooperate with the community accordingly. They didn鈥檛 kill anybody tonight, and that was good. It鈥檚 an understanding with the community. I think Akron police grew up in [the] Akron community. With all the killings going on 鈥 to be honest, it鈥檚 kind of hard to look at it on the news.鈥
By 3 a.m., the sidewalks are empty and the street is calm. The officers get back into their car. They hit 鈥渟ave鈥 on the in-unit video recorder, and they head off to their next call: a low-speed collision in a parking lot.
Copyright 2021 WKSU. To see more, visit . 9(MDA5NTM4MTIyMDE0MTg3NDc2MTVlZjdmNQ001))
