If the cops only fired 12 rounds, and all other rounds were fired by bikers, then the massacre was more the fault of the bikers than it was the Police.
This report, from the Police, contradicts the information that writer Donald Charles Davis (The Aging Rebel) has been posting, which has claimed that eye/ear-witness testimony claims only 2 or 3 shots were fired on the side of the Police, followed by a volley of hundreds of rounds from high-powered weapons.
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
Three officers opened fire during the deadly Twin Peaks biker melee last month, firing a total of 12 shots _ details released by Waco police on Friday, almost a month after the altercation.
The statement, made public by Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman, is the most in-depth information authorities have provided since the May 17 incident that left nine dead, 18 wounded and 177 jailed on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity.
The department, however, still has not said who fired the deadly shots. Stroman said the officers fired only after being shot at during the melee.
"We did not fire indiscriminately into the crowd. Our officers were restrained," Stroman said during a news conference Friday in Waco.
Waco police had 16 uniformed officers at the scene, which included supervisors and Special Weapons and Tactics team members.
Troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety were also there. "No shots were fired by DPS officers," said Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the agency.
So far, 44 shell casings have been found at the scene, according to police, and 32 of those recovered casings came from weapons from the suspects.
The casings don't include those from suspects' revolvers, from which casings must be manually ejected.
"As we get into examining all of the weapons, we may find even more empty shell casings, to show there were more than 32 rounds fired by suspects," police spokesman Steve Anderson said Friday.
Police have said they knew in advance of a gathering of motorcycle gangs, and possible trouble between two gangs - the Bandidos Motorcycle Club and the Cossacks Motorcycle Club - as well as smaller groups of riders who support those clubs. Authorities classify the Bandidos and Cossacks and Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs, saying there are numerous felons among their ranks and that they have long had their hands in drug dealing and other crimes.
The Bandidos are among the largest biker gangs in the United States and pride themselves on being "one percenters," meaning they are among the estimated 1 percent of motorcycle riders who are not law abiding citizens.
Members of the Bandidos, Cossacks and other groups who gathered at the Twin Peaks restaurant were supposedly participating in a regional meeting of the Confederation of Clubs and Independents, in which bikers discuss news and issues within the motorcycling community.
But just prior to the meeting, violence broke out among the bikers and touched off a clash that drew fire from police who say they were protecting themselves or other officers.
Waco Police officers were in their cars in parking lots adjacent to the restaurant when the shooting starting, according to the statement, and were not pre-positioned in sniper posts.
Houston Lawyer Paul Looney, whose clients are among those arrested, said he's spoken with several eyewitnesses who said police took up sniper positions and fired at bikers.
"He can say what he wants to say," Looney said of the chief. "The evidence is ultimately going to be available to us all."
SWAT team members had silencers on their rifles that fired .223 caliber ammunition, weapons which are capable of fully automatic fire, but were kept in the semi-automatic mode, meaning one bullet for each time the trigger is squeezed.
The number of weapons found at the scene has varied. Police now put the number at 475, including 151 guns. They also include "knives, brass knuckles, batons, tomahawks, weighted weapons, a hatchet, stun guns, bats, clubs, a machete, a pipe, an ax, pepper spray, and a chain." "
Many of these were hastily hidden and some were found using metal detectors as they were buried beneath the grass in the dirt," the statement said. Firearms have been given to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for review and surveillance videos of the incident have been given to the FBI.
"Full autopsy and ballistics analysis is being conducted by outside labs and the completed and final results have not been returned to us as of this release," the statement continues.
In related matters, police initially impounded 130 motorcycles and 91 other vehicles, including cars and trucks. As of this week, 52 motorcycles and 47 vehicles have been released to the owners.
No comments:
Post a Comment