Police on alert as bike gang members gather in Calgary
There will be about 500 bike gang members in Calgary this weekend, and the police will be watching.
That’s the message the Calgary Police Service and RCMP are sending in advance of an expected influx of motorcycle gang members in Calgary in the coming days. Of particular concern is the Hells Angels, according to Calgary police.
“This event, based on our criminal intelligence, is the 20th anniversary of the Calgary Hells Angels motorcycle chapter since their inception, and it’s also a Canada ride,” acting Supt. Joe Brar said at a news conference Thursday.
Brar said Hells Angels has held events like this in the city in the past without incident, but police will be keeping an eye on it anyway.
“We know about this event and we’ve been tracking their movements. There’s no need to call us if (members of the public) see a bunch of motorcycles driving down the street. But if they see any kind of criminality, we encourage them to reach out to us,” said Brar.
Hells Angels events are to begin Friday and wrap up Sunday, but members started arriving in Calgary as early as Wednesday night. In 2014, the Hells Angels held a similar party with 300 members. The extra 200 attendees are expected to come from every province across Canada.
This gathering also marks the 20th anniversary of the patchover, in which the Hells Angels took over several Alberta Grim Reapers chapters. In July 1997, the gang had chapters in Calgary and Edmonton, with satellite chapters in Red Deer reporting to Edmonton, and Lethbridge reporting to Calgary.
The Hells Angels’ dominance in Alberta has been challenged in recent years, with four international biker groups moving in: the Mongols, the Rebels, the Vagos and the Warlocks. There’s plenty of fighting between those four as well — police documented 20 instances of conflict between Angels and Warlocks over two months last year.
The Vagos opened a new chapter in Alberta in 2015. The Mongols, who have a presence throughout the province, also opened a new chapter in 2015. The Mongols haven’t always been successful when expanding to Canada. In 2007, they opened a Toronto chapter, but shut down just a few years later.
Police are aware of several scheduled events being held over the weekend at the Hells Angels clubhouse on 84th Street S.E.; however, they expect members to spill out into bars and other venues in the city. Calgary police point out motorcycle gangs host several events across Canada every year, usually without incident.
However, five men are facing assault charges following a fight at an annual Hells Angels event in Kenosee Lake, Sask., over the May long weekend. Asked what the police would be doing differently in light of those charges to try to stop a similar event in Calgary, Brar said: “It’s just like any other major event that takes place in the City of Calgary. The Calgary Police Service will be monitoring it, in conjunction with the RCMP and other law enforcement agencies across Canada, and we will take enforcement action as necessary.”
Cathy Proswe, an adjunct professor in criminal anthropology at the University of Calgary who spent 25 years with the Calgary Police Service, says the gathering is a potential gold mine for the police.
“Five hundred people, that’s great for intelligence. I’m speaking as a former intelligence officer for CPS. With the outlaw motorcycle gangs, not much has changed: it’s largely been associated with drugs and weapons. Getting a chance to see who is talking to whom over the weekend, that can be invaluable,” said Prowse.
Prowse doesn’t think there’s much risk to public safety, because the bikers know they’re being monitored and will take great pains not to give the police an excuse to intervene. She says if something goes wrong, it’ll be because a rival gang decides to go after the Hells Angels.
“We’ve had funerals, particularly in the American context, where a rival group has shown up to cause problems. I wouldn’t anticipate that, not with this number. In the absence of that kind of incursion by another group, this is going to pretty much be a non-event for most Calgarians. And we certainly have no outward indication of the kind of rivalry between the Angels and another group that would lead to an incursion,” said Prowse.