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News from Hells Angels MC Baltimore
| Headline: Police maintain a heavy presence at Hell's Angel anniversary party |
| Monday - 07/28/2008 |
| Referrer: The Vancouver Sun |
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VANCOUVER - A heavy police presence outside a party marking the 25th anniversary of the notorious Hells Angels in B.C. paid off with an incident-free weekend, Sgt. Shinder Kirk of the B.C. Integrated Gang Task Force said Sunday.
Kirk said no one knows what would have happened if dozens of plainclothes and uniformed officers from across Canada had not been closely monitoring the party, held at the two-hectare Langley spread owned by the White Rock Hell's Angels chapter.
Hells Angels members spent the weekend complaining to police about the level of scrutiny of the group and the fact the bikers were restricted from using the intersection of 216th Street and 61st Avenue to enter the party.
Kirk said the bikers were sent to a single entrance to keep the traffic flowing freely along the street for area residents and a couple of home-based businesses.
Curiosity-seekers who simply wanted to drive by the party were turned away at the barriers, Kirk said.
The Vancouver Sun monitored the party throughout the weekend and watched a number of heated exchanges between White Rock chapter members and police, who had a post immediately across the street from the clubhouse gate from Friday through Sunday.
Hundreds of people visited the compound throughout the weekend, with more than 100 Harleys on site. Hells Angels members from across B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec rode in and out of the high-security gate both Saturday and Sunday, proudly wearing their leather vests with death head patches and labels of their chapters.
At least one British Hells Angel member attended, but several bikers from the U.S. who attempted to cross the border were turned away.
The party marked the founding on July 23, 1983 of the first three Hells Angels chapters in B.C.: Vancouver, White Rock and Nanaimo.
The tensest moment of the weekend came late Saturday afternoon when police attempted to ticket and remove the plates from an enormous monster truck parked across from the party and owned by Vancouver full-patch Angel Mike Robatzek.
Robatzek was furious and started swearing at the officers as a group of his buddies crossed over from the clubhouse to express their views. Robatzek also called his lawyer, having a conversation openly as he sat in the truck three metres above the police.
He was shirtless throughout the exchange, his entire back and chest covered with Hells Angels tattoos, as well as one of a handgun. He ended up pulling the vehicle into the compound, promising to get it inspected today.
"There was concern over the licensing and registration of a particular vehicle," Kirk explained. "Officers went and spoke to the individuals there. Additional individuals came out. There was an exchange of words and that was the end of it."
Here are excerpts from my blog posts from outside the party:
Noon Saturday: "It is still very quiet in front of the Langley Hells Angels clubhouse ... Neighbours say the party went until 2 a.m. last night, music blasting from inside the compound. Most of the bikers did not sleep on site, but left pissed to the gills in chauffeured vans to nearby hotels where rooms have been booked.
A gatekeeper sporting a white T-shirt with RESPECT across the front and a gold death head pendant says tonight is the family dinner and the biggest bash of the weekend.
About 1 p.m., the police barricades go back up - this time not letting any of the bikers through; they must come and go in the other direction.
"They are fear-mongerers," the RESPECT man says of police.
Bikers keep coming and going, revving up and down the quiet country road.
5 p.m. Saturday: Bikers and their girlfriends continue to arrive for "family night." Some are on Harleys, but others are arriving in high-end luxury vehicles like Hummers and Lexuses. The music has started. One Hummer with Alberta plates advertises its business with detail painting: Showgirls Exotic Nightclub of Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie and Edmonton.
Every time the gate opens, a plainclothes cop from Quebec snaps as many pictures as he can of the long line of Harleys inside. Like the Hells Angels, the biker cops have come from across Canada for this 25th birthday party.
7 p.m. Saturday: One of the Angels is catering the big buffet dinner tonight. Two rows of metal serving dishes can be seen when the gate opens. The tables are all set and ready under white plastic canopies. Another canopy covers the booth selling commemorative shirts and other "support wear." The smell of marijuana coming from the compound is almost constant now. A baker's van arrives to deliver the birthday cake. An announcement is made that the official party photo will be taken about 7:15 p.m.
The puppet clubs seem to be responsible for the gate duty: the Renegades of Prince George, the Freewheelers from Saskatoon and "prospects" from Alberta, whose vest is missing the notorious death head until they get their patch. ... The most famous B.C. biker - club spokesman Rickey Ciarniello - just arrived on a huge Harley.
11 p.m. Saturday: The party is hopping ... A handful of cops stand directly across from the gate. There is even some joking banter back and forth when a White Rock member offers a beer to one officer. The biker then turns to me and says: "Put that on your blog." ... The White Rock member then drew a picture on the white plastic covering the gate. A happy face with curly hair. And then he wrote: have a nice day. On the other gate he wrote: discrimination is bad!!! (Illegal everywhere else except in Canada!??)
1 a.m. Sunday: The band stops with Eric Clapton's Cocaine as one of their final numbers, before the lead singer shouts "how are you guys doing out there...?!"??
It is pitch black on the street as stragglers come and go. One Quebec biker tells his pal they are going to begin the cross-country trip home later today. Another from Ontario tells a cop he is not flying out just yet. People are leaving with bags of commemorative T-shirts. Some have posters. They hug and slap each other on the back. One says: "See you in London, Ontario."
Noon Sunday: Life is back to normal on 61st in Langley. The police barricades are down. A city worker just picked up the barriers.
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