Biker Sues Waco, McLennan County, Alleges Unconstitutional Arrest, Detention

[didymus]

NBC Fort Worth:

Biker Sues Waco, McLennan County, Alleges Unconstitutional Arrest, Detention

A lawyer representing one of the more than 170 bikers arrested outside of a Waco restaurant May 17 has filed a civil rights lawsuit saying his client’s arrest and detention is unconstitutional. F. Clinton Broden released a statement Friday saying 30-year-old Matthew Alan Clendennen, arrested outside the Twin Peaks restaurant earlier this month after nine people were killed and 18 injured, is suing the City of Waco, McLennan County and Waco Police Officer Manuel Chavez.

In the suit, "Chavez is accused of signing a “fill in the name” warrant he knew lacked individual probable cause and deceiving the Justice of the Peace who signed the criminal complaint. The City of Waco and McLennan county are accused of “caus[ing] the arrest and detention of numerous individuals…regardless of whether or not there was individualized probable cause to arrest and detain a particular individual.”
Broden’s news release on the suit goes on to say Clendennen is a longtime McLennan County resident, a Baylor graduate and a former firefighter for the Hewitt and Marlin fire departments. It also says his client’s continued detention is putting a strain on the shared custody of his children, the management of his landscaping company and the welfare of his employees.

Broden said Clendennen, a member of the Scimitar Motorcycle Club, was present on the patio but took cover in the restaurant after a fight broke out. He said his client did not engage in any violent behavior and did nothing to encourage such behavior.
“Mr. Clendennen was arrested on a “fill in the name” criminal complaint and has been incarcerated for almost two weeks on a $1,000,000.00 bond. As a result, Mr. Clendennen’s ex-wife has petitioned for full custody of the two children they currently share custody of and Mr. Clendennen is at risk of losing his landscaping business although his father is attempting to run the business in his absence. If Mr. Clendennen loses the business, his employees will be without jobs,” Broden said in a news release.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          "In  order to arrest somebody in the United States, the Supreme Court has  made clear that there must be individualized probable cause to believe  that a particular person actually committed a crime. In this case, there  was absolutely no evidence that Mr. Clendennen committed any crime"  said Broden.
                                                                                                                                                                                                        Broden's  statement added that bond hearings to reduce the $1 million bonds are  not being heard until June 5 and, after consultation with the McLennan  County District Attorney's Office, the Justice of Peace has refused to  schedule a "probable cause hearing" until Aug. 6.

Delaying the probable cause hearing until August is certainly unconscionable. In a lot of jurisdictions the DA has 3-6 months after arrest to decide whether to bring charges. Long enough, as the article points out, to lose your home, job and child custody.

 

[Seamus_L]

I hope he’s successful. The majority of bikers arrested at Twin Peaks had no police records, and there were several groups there who could not be considered ‘outlaw’ bikers in anyway. These included, Marine and Vietnam Veterans clubs and even an Evangelical Christian biker group called “Honor Bound”.

 

[Casilda]

Well, in TX we all know Waco is pronouced Wacko. I agree that the outlaw sheriff and county officials planned this sweep to net as many fish as they could in hopes catching a few elusive bad apples. In a TV interview the police official admitted that most of the charges would be dropped.

So I hope the citizens who had their civil rights violated sue Wacko and the county into bankrupcy.

Delaying the hearing is a tactic to bankrupt citizens so they will be unable to defend themselves. We no longer live in a free society when you have to prove your innocency, because rogue police officials don’t have to prove your guilt.

Innocent until proven guilty is a science fiction fantasy.

 

[Orogeny]

I agree that the outlaw sheriff and county officials planned this sweep to net as many fish as they could in hopes catching a few elusive bad apples.

They planned the sweep? Are you suggesting that they planned the shoot-out?

Peace

Tim

 

[mikekle]

They planned the sweep? Are you suggesting that they planned the shoot-out?

Peace

Tim

I would not be surprised if this was true, after all, that just means they get to arrest more people.

The old ‘innocent until proven guilty’ statement has been long gone for a long time, now its actually guilty until proven innocent.

 

[Seamus_L]

The video evidence should be interesting when it’s released. From what I’ve read, the police were waiting at Twin Peaks before the bikers got there.

 

[Path_Finder]

Not all of these biker groups had a negative reputation, it seemed to be a bikers convention. One of those biker groups may have even been one of those “Christian Bikers” groups, they have the name ministry in their name or something like this. Yes, I already did the footwork and they present themselves as a Christian group.

Biker gangs took part in drive safe ceremonies in Texas: ridesafeintexas.homestead.com/Proclamations2013.html , I saw this when it first happened, the Bandidos and Cossacks have both done this.

 

[Seamus_L]

Interesting article that would seem to dispute some of the claims made by police nypost.com/2015/05/21/bikers-flee-gunfire-in-restaurant-video/

 

[GEddie]

I thought Wackos were the citizens of Waco???

Seriously, this just further shows we lost the country a long time ago, without even knowing it. If folks are afraid enough, they will welcome oppression.

ICXC NIKA

 

[Orogeny]

I would not be surprised if this was true, after all, that just means they get to arrest more people.

The old ‘innocent until proven guilty’ statement has been long gone for a long time, now its actually guilty until proven innocent.

I’m sorry, but that is slanderous. You have now accused law enforcement of premeditated murder simply to be able to arrest people.

Get a clue, mikekle. Law enforcement doesn’t have a lack of people who need to be arrested. They don’t set up mass murder just to arrest people.

Your hatred of law enforcement is getting old.

Peace

Tim

 

[Seamus_L]

I think people have alot of questions regarding what exactly happened at Twin Peaks. Those questions do not necessarily make anyone anti-police and pro-outlaw biker or vice versa.

 

[Orogeny]

I think people have alot of questions regarding what exactly happened at Twin Peaks. Those questions do not necessarily make anyone anti-police and pro-outlaw biker or vice versa.

Is it your position that the police set up the shoot-out?

Peace

Tim

 

[Seamus_L]

I don’t have enough information at this time, to formulate an opinion, but I believe there are some serious questions regarding the police that need to be answered, and I don’t mean that to imply that they deliberately massacred a bunch of peaceful bikers.

 

[Casilda]

The video evidence should be interesting when it’s released. From what I’ve read, the police were waiting at Twin Peaks before the bikers got there.

That’s what I read, too. As the guy scheduled to speak at the meeting drove up, he saw the cops had the place surrounded and he left with his group, then called someone inside the restaurant then shots were fired.

I just fear now being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting swept up in a similar sting.

 

[Orogeny]

I don’t mean that to imply that they deliberately massacred a bunch of peaceful bikers.

That is precisely what mikele implied and what I was responding to. That, and his other posts about law enforcement, make it crystal clear that he is anti-law enforcement.

Peace

Tim

 

[ToeInTheWater]

That is precisely what mikele implied and what I was responding to. That, and his other posts about law enforcement, make it crystal clear that he is anti-law enforcement.

Peace

Tim

I don’t think mikekle is anti-law enforcement. He does however like his conspiracy theories that easily explain away all injustices and contradictions we encounter in society.

 

[Seamus_L]

Waco Biker Brawl: Man Charged After Deadly Shooting Calls Arrests ‘a Sham’ nbcnews.com/news/us-news/biker-charged-after-waco-brawl-calls-arrests-sham-n368731

 

[JimR-OCDS]

Investigators have found more than 300 weapons — including an AK-47 — at the scene of the Texas biker war in which nine gang members died, police said Wednesday.

So far.

Waco police Sgt. Patrick Swanton said Wednesday that the Twin Peaks restaurant, where at least five biker gangs threw down Sunday in an apocalyptic battle, was littered with hundreds of weapons — having found 318 “and still counting.”

The breakdown as of Wednesday evening:

1 AK-47 assault-style rifle
118 handguns
157 knives
43 other weapons, primarily clubs, brass knuckles and chains with padlocks to be used as bludgeons
Various body armor

“We do expect the numbers to continue to rise,” Swanton said.

nbcnews.com/news/us-news/waco-biker-war-ak-47-among-hundreds-weapons-found-scene-n362331

When cops are called into a violent situation like this, it’s difficult to discern between the guilty and the innocent.

So, to put down the violence, they arrest everyone and let the courts sort it out.

One thing for sure, put rival bike gangs, guns and alcohol together and you have the recipe for what took place.

Jim

 

[jtauke]

I would not be surprised if this was true, after all, that just means they get to arrest more people.

The old ‘innocent until proven guilty’ statement has been long gone for a long time, now its actually guilty until proven innocent.

An absolutely ridiculous statement with no evidence to back the claim up…

 

[styrgwillidar]

The police were there, although a common tactic for police is to try and keep a gathering calm and orderly be showing a large visible presence.
kwtx.com/home/headlines/Police-Discount-Conspiracy-Theories-About-Biker-Shootout-304647831.html

‘In anticipation of possible problems, 14 Waco officers and four Texas Department of Public Safety troopers were positioned around the restaurant, where a coalition of biker groups planned to meet on Sunday.’

A problem police often do have, is ‘sympathetic fire’; once one officer starts shooting there’s a tendency for everyone to join in. Even police who just happen to be nearby…
usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/05/18/waco-shootout-police-involvement/27530257/

‘Swanton said off-duty officers shopping at the outdoor mall jumped in to help during the firefight.’

Although the police claim the shooting/fight started inside the restaurant, the video from inside the restaurant shown to news reporters contradicts that (unless the restaurant themselves edited the video), showing any fight/shooting occurred outside.
foxnews.com/us/2015/05/21/bikers-shown-fleeing-gunfire-guiding-others-to-safety-in-security-video-from/

Lot of rumors flying around, like a lot of stories won’t be anything solid until video and autopsy results are released. Although they’ve released general results- type of wounds and location, they haven’t released what type of weapons and whose caused the wounds/fatalities. It will be interesting to see how many of the 9 were shot by the police. Realize, Texas is a ‘shall issue’ state when it comes to firearms so many of these weapons could have been carried legally by those present. Same with knives. Similarly, many of the weapons were not on the persons arrested but stored on/in the motorcycles and other vehicles.

Too much speculation, we’ll have to wait and see.