Another reason not to attend the Sturgis Rally

Off-duty Seattle officer held in shooting at Sturgis biker rally
Last updated August 9, 2008 9:54 p.m. PT

By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER

An off-duty Seattle police officer attending South Dakota's famous
Sturgis Motorcycle Rally has been detained in connection with a
shooting that left one man injured early Saturday morning.

The shooting followed a confrontation between Hell's Angels Motorcycle
gang members and members of the Iron Pigs Motorcycle club, South
Dakota investigators said. Iron Pigs is a riding club that often
counts law enforcement officers among its membership, according to the
club's website.
Police officers Jon Pike, left, and Mike DeBruin, who were hired for
the rally, monitor Sturgis' Main Street in front of the American
Roadhouse on Saturday. A shooting occurred at the bar early Saturday
morning. (Photo by Ryan Soderlin / Rapid City Journal)

(Greg-Pic is at url below.)

During the altercation, two shots were fired and one of the Hell's
Angel members was struck. That man was taken to the Rapid City
Regional Hospital for treatment and his condition was unknown.

Authorities detained the suspected shooter, a Seattle officer, but he
has not been arrested.

"Early this morning, the Seattle Police Department received
notification that one of our officers was involved in an off-duty
shooting in Sturgis, South Dakota," said a statement released by the
Seattle Police Department Saturday. "We believe that four other
off-duty Seattle Police officers were present when the shooting
occurred," the statement reads.

Neither officials in South Dakota nor Seattle would release the names
of the officers involved.

Chief Gil Kerlikowske is sending a team of detectives to Sturgis to
learn more about the incident, including homicide Lt. Jim Dermody,
homicide detectives and a sergeant with the Office of Professional
Accountability. The team is expected to leave for South Dakota
Saturday evening.

"The Seattle Police Department considers this a matter of utmost
seriousness," the statement reads. "All five officers will be placed
on administrative reassignment (relieved of duty) pending further
investigation by the South Dakota authorities."

The shooting happened during the annual biker rally in Sturgis, S.D.,
which draws thousands of riders each year for a series of events over
several days. The rally is scheduled to end Sunday.

Around 1 a.m. Saturday, Sturgis police were called to the Loud
American Roadhouse in the center of town in response to a report of a
fight and shooting, according to press releases issued by Sturgis
police and the Meade County Sheriff's Office.

As many as 500 people were inside the club when officers from several
agencies converged on the popular bar, evacuating patrons and securing
the club.

Dean Kinney, one of the bar's owners, told the Rapid City Journal in
Rapid City, S.D., that workers at the bar noticed several Hell's
Angels gathering in and outside the bar, and actually called police
prior to the shooting as a precaution.

Kinney told the paper that he was told a scuffle broke out before the
shots were fired.

Daytona Beach, Fla. resident Nick McCallum told the Journal that he
was working at a T-shirt shop across the street when he heard the
shots.

"It was pretty much pandemonium," he told the paper. "The whole place
just flooded out. A lot of people screaming, a bunch of craziness. I
wasn't sure what it was."

Trevor Jones, assistant director of the South Dakota Division of
Criminal Investigation, declined to provide any details as to what led
to the shooting, citing the on-going nature of the investigation. He
said none of those involved in the incident were from South Dakota.

The shooting is being investigated by several agencies. The annual
Sturgis rally has a raucous reputation, attracting bikers from around
the country, but Saturday's shooting is the first to take place during
the rally in nearly 20 years.

(Greg-Not true.
http://www.sturgisrallydaily.com/news_viewer.php?id=67&category=100
has the story of a biker shot dead by police at the rally.
http://www.brainbucketmag.com/News/article/sid=515.html has the story
of two HAers shooting Outlaws MC members.)

Seattle police Sgt. Rich O'Neill, president of the Seattle Police
Officer's Guild, said he had not been contacted regarding the
shooting, but said that officers have a right to protect themselves
and should be given the benefit of the doubt while the allegations are
investigated.

"They deserve to have it played out," he said.

© 1998-2008 Seattle Post-Intelligencer

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/print...ce.com/local/374338_sturgis10.html?source=rss

 

Is it that unusual for the HA's to gather at a bar in Sturgis?

 

I dunno that that is unusual either.

 

====did not the HA's pretty much start the big event over 50 years ago
(or Riders like them)? Why did the bar folks panic, and call the law?
MrJayT-