Man placed in handcuffs during gender reveal gone wrong

CANTON, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) – A gender reveal in Ohio ended with a man in handcuffs.

On Sunday evening in Canton, Andrew Soliday revved up his bright green muscle car and did a burnout, revealing blue smoke behind him to signify the couple was having a baby boy.

As his car took off down the street, Canton police spotted him. Several officers stopped Soliday and approached the car with guns drawn.

“It’s a gender reveal,” Soliday can be heard telling the officers.

Soliday got out of his car and tried to explain what he was doing, but one officer told him he “didn’t want to hear it” and put him in handcuffs and in the back of a police cruiser.

The grandma-to-be talked to officers to explain it was a gender reveal.

Police apologized for the commotion and said that they were not trying to ruin the moment, but they are used to seeing criminals doing burnouts to flee police.

“We’re used to dealing with people doing burnouts and running from us. We don’t know what’s going on. That’s why we’re getting out guns blazing,” one officer told the family.

Soliday said he understood why he was stopped, but that police shouldn’t have taken it further.

“I understand why they stopped, they saw the smoke,” Soliday said. “But once they pulled up, and my hands are out of the window, and the grandmother and me are telling them it’s a gender reveal, to run up on me with guns out and treat me like that was just crazy to me.”

But no matter how well-meaning the cause, Canton Police say anything perceived as street racing, drag racing, or burnout is a crime and against the law.

In this case, Canton police let Soliday go with a warning.