Motorcyclists dispute BCSO’s take on incident

Group denies threatening deputies, objects to having a gun pointed at one of them

A video showing a Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy pointing a gun at a motorcyclist doing a wheelie on Tramway on Saturday afternoon has led to social media outrage and demands for an investigation.

Motorcyclists who were on a group ride Saturday during the encounter give a different version of events than the one provided by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office late Saturday.

At that time, the department said the deputy, a passenger in a patrol car, pointed the gun because he was “in fear of an immediate and impending battery” as he was surrounded by the bikers flashing gang signs.

The initial statement said that around 3 p.m., deputies were responding to reports that dozens of bikers were blocking traffic, driving aggressively and racing on Paseo del Norte near Coors. Deputies said they found the group on Tramway and attempted a traffic stop, but the group refused to stop and “continued to drive reckless.” They said the group then surrounded the patrol car and “began directing what deputies know to be gang related signs.” That’s when the deputy pulled his gun.

But on Sunday, motorcyclists who had been on the Saturday ride said they were not intentionally blocking traffic, threatening others or throwing gang signs. They characterize their group as a “biker community” that enjoys “stunting.”

While one man acknowledged that a wheelie might merit a traffic citation, he argued that it was “nothing worth drawing a gun on somebody for.”

The motorcyclists said their group of between 50 and 100 was touring around the city at or near the speed limit. If they were blocking traffic, they said, it was only because there were so many vehicles.

“It was a ride. It was a big group of bikes cruising,” one man said.

They said riders did not intentionally surround the patrol car, but the deputy’s car pulled onto Tramway from a gas station parking lot into the middle of their massive group.

And while deputies say the bikers flashed gang signs at them, the motorcyclists said during interviews Sunday that they gave deputies the finger only after the gun was pointed.

“We flipped him off, we did,” one woman who was part of the ride said Sunday. “Each and every single one of us flipped him off.”

Video footage of the encounter spread widely across social media over the weekend.

Group members said the 24-second video was taken on a cellphone by a biker in an attempt to capture the wheelie stunt, but it also recorded the deputy pointing the gun as the patrol car was moving.

The video shows two motorcyclists — one in each lane — doing wheelies and riding next to one another as a BCSO unit approaches from behind with no emergency lights on. Several more motorcycles are shown in the far background.

As one biker moves ahead, the deputies pull up beside the second. As the second bike speeds up, the video shows the deputy in the passenger seat with his arm sticking out of the window and his gun pointed at the biker, who is wearing a helmet and a pink T-shirt.

The footage spread on several motorcycle-related Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages and by Sunday night had received tens of thousands of views from around the country.

The New Mexico Motorcyclists Rights Organization released a statement Saturday condemning the deputies’ actions and calling for an investigation by an outside agency.

BCSO declined multiple Journal requests for an interview. The department released an updated statement Sunday afternoon.

Spokeswoman Felicia Maggard wrote that the department received “an overwhelming number of responses and messages from our community.” Much of that feedback was received on the BCSO Facebook page, where commenters derided the department and doctored up images from the video with phrases mocking the deputies involved.

While she did not speak about Saturday’s incident specifically, she said in general a wheelie could be considered careless driving, and in some cases it could rise to the level of reckless driving.

“Please rest assured, Sheriff Manuel Gonzales and BCSO staff will continue to protect the rights of all citizens of Bernalillo County,” her statement said.

Gonzales declined to answer questions Sunday, but he issued an emailed statement.

“I have not had an opportunity to properly review the information, video and photographs involved in this incident. I am aware of the overwhelming response from our community regarding the actions of the deputies involved. I can assure you a thorough investigation will be conducted. …,” he said.

Capt. Craig Sevier said a limited number of BCSO patrol vehicles are equipped with dashboard cameras, but he said he did not believe the car in the video is one of them.