January 2016
A publication supporting the rights, safety and freedom of all motorcyclists through education and legislation
VOLUME XXIV, ISSUE VIII
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Nonprofit Org US Postage Paid Permit #1662 Phoenix, AZ
waco
Editor’s Note: This article was sent out on the MMA mailing list by Billy Larson. Here is his commentary: “And, if you read this story... It is absolutely put out by law enforcement to cover their own Asses!!! There are some HUGE Discrepancies..... All of which point away from them... And the training mission they were engaged in with the military and other LE agencies... “ Reprinted from http://www.msn.com By EMILY SCHMALL and SETH ROBBINS, Associated Press
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FORT WORTH, Texas — Four of the nine people killed in a melee between rival biker gangs outside a Texas restaurant were struck by the same caliber of rifle fired by Waco police, according to evidence obtained by The Associated Press that provides the most insight yet into whether authorities were responsible for any of the deaths and injuries.
The latest trove of potential grand jury evidence reviewed by the AP depicts a chaotic, bloody scene in which police swarmed into the shootout between rival biker gangs on May 17 outside the Twin Peaks restaurant that left about 20 wounded and arrested nearly 200 people.
Hours of audio and footage and hundreds of documents including ballistics reports show
that four of the dead and at least one of the wounded were struck with bullets from .223caliber rifles — the only type of weapon fired by police that day.
Two of the four dead had wounds from only that kind of rifle; the other two were shot by other kinds of guns as well. The ballistics reports show that the rest of the people killed were shot by a variety of other guns.
It was not clear whether any bikers had similar guns to the police that day. Among the hundreds of weapons authorities recovered from the scene were 12 long guns, which could include rifles.
The Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, which conducted the ballistics analysis, declined to comment on its findings. Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman had said in June that officers shot a total of 12 rounds using the semi-automatic setting on their .223-caliber rifles. The AP has previously reported that evidence showed some of those shots struck bikers, but didn't indicate whether they were fatal.
Police and the district attorney's office declined to comment on the latest evidence, but have previously defended the officers' use of force, claiming that bikers had also opened
fire on police. Police have previously cited a gag order in the criminal case of one of the bikers. Media groups including the AP have fought the order, contending that it is overly broad and unconstitutional.
Investigators have offered few details publicly about what sparked the fight or how the gunfire played out. Much of the narrative has come from the evidence obtained by the AP, including the latest batch of documents, footage, autopsy photos and audio of 911 calls and biker interviews describing how a feud between the Cossacks and Bandidos motorcycle gangs turned deadly. Bikers have criticized the way police dealt with the incident and believe the ballistics findings prove that officers made the situation worse.
"I think they handled it badly," said John Wilson, who was at the shooting and is a chapter president of the Cossacks. "I think their first responsibility is to be a deterrent to crime, not to set up and hope they get to use their rifles." The gunfire had erupted shortly before a meeting of a coalition of motorcycle clubs that says it advocates for rider safety.
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