Waco Biker Shootout - 9 Dead, 170 Arrested

Trifixion713

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Katie Rhoten told The Associated Press that her husband ran for cover and was later arrested, along with antique motorcycle enthusiast friends and other "nonviolent, noncriminal people." Authorities swept up around 170 bikers who had descended on the restaurant for what one club member described as a gathering to discuss laws protecting motorcycle riders.

"He's good to his family," she said. "He doesn't drink; he doesn't do drugs; he doesn't party. He's just got a passion for motorcycles."

McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara and Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton declined to comment Tuesday on allegations that innocent bikers were arrested. Police have said the gathering of five biker groups was to resolve a dispute over turf.

Katie Rhoten said her husband, a mechanic from Austin, called her from jail and said that he and two other members of Vise Grip Club ducked and ran for cover as the violence that left 18 people injured raged around them.....

..."Yes, there was a problem at this scene, and it was absolutely horrific, but there just also happened to be a significant amount of people there who had nothing to do with it," Buscemi told the AP.

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20150520-wife-says-austin-biker-arrested-after-waco-shootout-was-innocent-bystander.ece

Chef Ramsay

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Just How Badly Are Authorities Screwing Up The Arrest Of 170 Bikers In Texas?

On Sunday afternoon, an enormous biker gang brawl broke out at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas. Authorities claim that when members of several motorcycle gangs, including the Bandidos and Cossacks, gathered to hash out an ongoing turf war, the meeting turned bloody. When the scene quieted, a reported nine people were dead, at least 18 seriously wounded, and 170 or so in police custody.

Bikers can be some bad mothers f*ckers. The state of Texas identifies gangs such as the Bandidos as serious organized crime syndicates, deeply entangled with Mexican drug cartels and other ne’er-do-wells, every bit as nasty as notorious groups like the Bloods and Crips.

So, why should civil libertarians care what happens to 170 or so bikers in Waco? A closer look reveals how authorities arrested too many, set bail too high, and charged with too much. The results not only infringe on the civil liberties of many of those arrested, but will create a disaster for the criminal justice system in and around Waco.

Here’s why.

...

[url][http://abovethelaw.com/2015/05/just-how-badly-are-authorities-screwing-up-the-arrest-of-170-bikers-in-texas//url]

BADecker

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Yeah. The police gang doesn't like other gangs encroaching on their neighborhood, so they shoot 'em dead. If the other gangs had won, and the police had died, then the State or the Federal would have sent in their gangs that we call "the military."

Falconer

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Quote from: Trifixion713 on May 20, 2015, 09:33:23 PM

An retired San Antonio cop was one of the bikers arrested:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Retired-San-Antonio-detective-arrested-in-Waco-6274647.php

Is he the gangster leader?
How could an ex cop became a cop's enemy?
It's can change people's perception to police.

Trifixion713

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A retired San Antonio cop was one of the bikers arrested:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/Retired-San-Antonio-detective-arrested-in-Waco-6274647.php

galdur

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Ah, apparently The Cossacks had decided to put on a Texas bottom rocker which didn´t go very well down with The Bandidos, the gang dominating the territory. Result, nine dead sheesh.

Falconer

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Quote from: Trifixion713 on May 19, 2015, 01:53:32 PM

There was a huge shootout between rival biker "clubs"- namely the Bandidos, Cossacks, and Scimitars - this past Sunday in Waco, Texas. 9 dead, 18 injured, and now 170 arrested being held on $1million bail:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/waco-texas-biker-shooting-caught-video/story?id=31143743

Quote

Texas authorities issued a bulletin to law enforcement agencies earlier this month warning of increasing violence between two rival biker gangs blamed for a shootout outside a restaurant in Waco that left 9 people dead.

The May 1 bulletin, obtained by ABC News affiliate WFAA-TV in Dallas, said there had been skirmishes and talk of war between the Bandidos and Cossacks for months.

The bulletin was issued by the Texas Joint Information Center run by the Texas Department of Public Safety. It said the conflict might stem from Cossacks refusing to pay Bandidos dues for operating in Texas and for wearing the Texas patch on their vests without the Bandidos' approval.

Waco police said today that 170 suspected gang members were arrested after the meeting between the rival gangs at a restaurant Sunday turned into a deadly brawl, and many are being charged with engaging in organized crime.

They were ordered held on bond of $1 million for each suspect.

Eight people died at the scene at the Twin Peaks restaurant and one at the hospital, in killings Waco Police Sgt. Patrick Swanton characterized as capital murder "because of the number of victims that were killed in one episode here."

Eighteen people were taken from the scene to hospitals, mostly for gunshot and stab wounds, Swanton said at a news conference. Everyone involved was a gang member, police said.

"This was a true gang fight that occurred at this location," Swanton said earlier Monday, adding that the people involved were using "bad-guy weapons" such as brass knuckles, knives and guns.

Police originally reported that 192 people were arrested, but Swanton later said the number has been revised to 170. Swanton added that the exact number of arrests still could change.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/dead-150-detained-biker-gang-gunfight-waco-texas/story?id=31117791

As a side note, Sgt Swanton of Waco PD said: “...one of the most violent scenes I've seen in my 34 years as a police officer in Waco...” Ummm, what about the David Koresh/Branch Davidian ATF/fed bloodbath? Guess he missed work that day...

I think this issue has not finished yet. The biker clubs still can't decide who the winning side is because "interrupted" by police. The battle maybe can happen again when the gang members be released from jail.

UliJonHoth

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Quote from: Chef Ramsay on May 19, 2015, 07:49:13 PM

Cases like this is where I side w/ the police and have respect for the shit they have to deal with. I really don't like miscreant, low intelligence people that are prone to violence so I prefer the police gang in this particular situation.

And whoever the owner/management was over at Twin Peaks must be a real pos, they were fully aware that 200-some outlaw bikers would be at their place of business, the police contacted them beforehand and they refused to work with them

Quote

Sgt. Patrick Swanton said Waco police knew before Sunday that there would be trouble at the restaurant and had 18 local police officers plus four DPS troopers at the scene before the fighting began. Waco police had attempted to work with management at the local Twin Peaks before, but the restaurant refused...

Twin Peaks spokesman Rick Van Warner told News 8 the company then contacted the franchise owner and warned him. However, because the franchisee is the actual owner of the restaurant, they could not force him to do anything specific.

Twin Peaks national office confirmed Monday that they immediately revoked the franchise agreement with the owner of the Waco location.

http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/crime/2015/05/17/twin-peaks-management-police-deadly-brawl/27505571/

Chef Ramsay

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Deadly Texas biker gang shootout rooted in brazen rivalries, authorities say

It started, the police were told, with an argument over a parking space outside a sports pub in a shopping mall.

Another dispute broke out in the bathroom, and it didn’t take long before a battle was underway — knives, clubs, brass knuckles and bullets flying past the familiar facades of Best Buy and Office Depot.

By the time it was over, the parking lot at the Twin Peaks restaurant was strewn with shell casings, puddles of blood, bullet-riddled cars and abandoned motorcycles. Nine people were dead, 18 injured and more than 170 arrested on suspicion of engaging in organized crime.

Authorities are still trying to piece together the genesis of the brawl — reportedly a territorial dispute between biker gangs.

So stunning was the sudden violence in this city Waco Police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton described as “Anytown, USA” that the restaurant’s corporate management summarily revoked its franchise Monday.

On Tuesday morning, the McLennan County Jail was still processing those who were arrested. About 50 were expected to be arraigned Tuesday and an associate judge and justice of the peace have come to the jail to assist in the unusual situation, staff said.

The bail for dozens of defendants has been set at up to $1 million each.

More...http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-waco-biker-gang-deaths-20150518-story.html#page=1

Chef Ramsay

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Cases like this is where I side w/ the police and have respect for the shit they have to deal with. I really don't like miscreant, low intelligence people that are prone to violence so I prefer the police gang in this particular situation.

UliJonHoth

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My friend's girlfriend was driving home Sunday from Waco and passed by the area a while after it happened, she said she'd never seen so many LE vehicles and that it was surreal.

koshgel

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They said 5 of the 9 dead were most likely killed by Police. They also reported that even more members of the gangs are going to be coming into town. Wouldn't be surprised if we see a flare up of violence in the next week or two.

Trifixion713

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There was a huge shootout between rival biker "clubs"- namely the Bandidos, Cossacks, and Scimitars - this past Sunday in Waco, Texas. 9 dead, 18 injured, and now 170 arrested being held on $1million bail:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/waco-texas-biker-shooting-caught-video/story?id=31143743

Quote

Texas authorities issued a bulletin to law enforcement agencies earlier this month warning of increasing violence between two rival biker gangs blamed for a shootout outside a restaurant in Waco that left 9 people dead.

The May 1 bulletin, obtained by ABC News affiliate WFAA-TV in Dallas, said there had been skirmishes and talk of war between the Bandidos and Cossacks for months.

The bulletin was issued by the Texas Joint Information Center run by the Texas Department of Public Safety. It said the conflict might stem from Cossacks refusing to pay Bandidos dues for operating in Texas and for wearing the Texas patch on their vests without the Bandidos' approval.

Waco police said today that 170 suspected gang members were arrested after the meeting between the rival gangs at a restaurant Sunday turned into a deadly brawl, and many are being charged with engaging in organized crime.

They were ordered held on bond of $1 million for each suspect.

Eight people died at the scene at the Twin Peaks restaurant and one at the hospital, in killings Waco Police Sgt. Patrick Swanton characterized as capital murder "because of the number of victims that were killed in one episode here."

Eighteen people were taken from the scene to hospitals, mostly for gunshot and stab wounds, Swanton said at a news conference. Everyone involved was a gang member, police said.

"This was a true gang fight that occurred at this location," Swanton said earlier Monday, adding that the people involved were using "bad-guy weapons" such as brass knuckles, knives and guns.

Police originally reported that 192 people were arrested, but Swanton later said the number has been revised to 170. Swanton added that the exact number of arrests still could change.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/dead-150-detained-biker-gang-gunfight-waco-texas/story?id=31117791

As a side note, Sgt Swanton of Waco PD said: “...one of the most violent scenes I've seen in my 34 years as a police officer in Waco...” Ummm, what about the David Koresh/Branch Davidian ATF/fed bloodbath? Guess he missed work that day...

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