Zusha Elinson, journalist at the Wall Street Journal, wrote the following article regarding he proliferation of Police Biker Clubs and the incidents in which they have been involved possibly hurting all the law enforcement credibility. Prosecutors are considering criminal charges against four members of the Iron Brotherhood motorcycle club for their roles in a Christmas time bar brawl in Prescott, Ariz., that sent one man to the hospital. Their nicknames are Tarzan, Mongo, Guido and Top Gun. They rode Harley Davidson motorcycles, wore vests decorated with skulls and some allegedly carried knives and brass knuckles. Their day jobs were police chief, county sheriff’s sergeant, police officer and paramedic.
An increasing number of police officers are forming motorcycle clubs, and hundreds now exist nationwide, according to experts on motorcycle gangs. Gang investigators fear that such clubs, some of which have the trappings of outlaw biker groups, can hurt the credibility of law enforcement and undermine criminal cases brought against traditional gangs.
“In the last 15 years I would say that we’ve probably seen a tenfold increase in these clubs,” said Terry Katz, vice president of the International Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association, who works for the Maryland State Police. “The first ones were pretty straightforward. They were family-oriented clubs. What we see now as a trend is biker by night and cop by day.”
The growth of such groups worries some law-enforcement officials because of the rowdy and violent behavior that sometimes goes on. In South Dakota, for instance, prosecutors charged a Seattle police detective who was a member of a group called the Iron Pigs with shooting and injuring a Hells Angels biker in a 2008 brawl between the clubs. The charges were later dropped. This year, the police chief in Melrose Park, Ill., a Chicago suburb, disbanded a police motorcycle club called the Reapers whose members had allegedly been in a bar fight. “If this is not addressed, you’re going to continue to have these issues like you have in Arizona,” said David “Vito” Bertocchini, a retired detective who investigated motorcycle gangs in California. “If these guys were dressing as street-gang members and they had red rags hanging out their pockets, would this be tolerated? Absolutely not.” In the courts, defense attorneys seek to torpedo charges against alleged gang members by arguing they are no different than police motorcycle clubs. Jorge Gil-Blanco, a retired San Jose police officer and expert witness, said the issue “muddies the water for juries.” He adds, “I shouldn’t have to sit there and justify this type of behavior.”
Members of police clubs say the concern is overblown. The Blue Knights, a law-enforcement club with more than 20,000 members around the world, was formed to raise money for charities and ride bikes with fellow officers and families, said D.J. Alvarez, international vice president. “We try to maintain a positive appearance,” he said. “We promote motorcycle safety, we involve families and we’re not discriminative,” he added. The national board of directors for the Iron Brotherhood didn’t respond to requests for comment, but on its website appeared to distance itself from the Arizona bar fight, denouncing “any behavior by its members that would reflect negatively on our club or our profession as law-enforcement officers.” The board said what was known as the Whiskey Row Chapter in Prescott no longer exists.
The fight broke out Dec. 22 last year at Moctezuma’s Bar in Prescott, where members of the Iron Brotherhood had gathered for their Christmas party. A patron approached Bill “Tarzan” Fessler, president of the Iron Brotherhood chapter and the police chief of neighboring Prescott Valley, and either grabbed his vest or asked about the club’s patch, according to witness accounts in a report released by the Arizona Department of Public Safety. A melee ensued and a security guard observed an Iron Brotherhood member “pounding” someone’s face, the report said. Investigators concluded that the man, who was treated for a possible broken nose, and another patron were hit. State investigators recommended assault charges against two Iron Brotherhood members, obstruction-of-justice charges against Mr. Fessler and another member of the club, and disorderly conduct charges against the patron. A spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said prosecutors were reviewing the recommendations, but have yet to decide on filing criminal charges. Yavapai County Sheriff’s personnel board recently recommended terminating three employees who were members of the club. “I know the badge has been tarnished, and we will work relentlessly to regain the community’s full trust and confidence,” said Yavapai County Sheriff Scott Mascher. The Hells Angels, which has been labeled a dangerous criminal organization by federal authorities, though its members dispute the characterization, also weighed in on the incident. The local chapter expressed its disapproval to a local news site and challenged the Iron Brotherhood to a boxing match. The Brotherhood didn’t take up the offer. “[The boxing challenge] was really kind of to stand up to these guys,” said Michael Koepke, vice president of the Yavapai County Hells Angels chapter, who last year had charges stemming from a 2010 shootout dismissed. “They give a bad name to motorcycle clubs.”
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While Minnesota is certainly concerned about the spike in fatalities, let's remember that cops killed the first three. The first two 2013 motorcycle fatalities in Minnesota were felons running from arrest in high speed chases. The third was caused when a Minneapolis cop took it upon himself to rush to the scene of a shooting after the crime scene was already cold and secured by law enforcement. The guy did not deploy lights and siren, ran a stop sign in a residential neighborhood, and T-boned and killed a motorcyclist. But what disturbs me most is the "single vehicle crashes", which comprise 40-50% of the fatalities this year. Sure, half of these were rider "error", but the other half can/will be attributed to mechanical problems with the motorcycle itself (ie: bad tires, brakes, cables, etc). In my opinion, this is a result of people riding who have no knowledge of motorcycle physics. This is my new mission - Know your bike, know yourself (Zen like I know). I think the same can be said about car drivers too and is why the roads are less safe. Below is what I wrote someone else on this subject. Motorcycle rider training is important and I fully support, but what good will it do if the chain on your 2001 Suzuki that you have not used in ten years breaks and wraps itself around the sprockets spinning you into the other lane with a gravel truck bearing down on you? Like I said, this is my next mission. -- Mack
The best riders I have ever encountered are those who grew up riding dirt bikes and worked on their own bikes. I work on other people's bikes all the time and am always amazed when I ask:
"How long has it been making that noise? (or "when did it start doing that?) and they do not know what I am talking about. Serious problems that could easily put them in the ditch and they have no clue. About 40% of the motorcycle crashes in my state are "single vehicle crashes". I am sure that many of these are because of an unprepared motorcycle, not an unprepared motorcyclist.
Perhaps skills training alone is not the answer?
Mack
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