Bikers file federal civil rights suit against DA, police chief
A stack of federal civil rights lawsuits contend that a district attorney, police and other officials are violating the law by prosecuting dozens of people who they know didn’t do anything but run from gunfire during a melee at the Twin Peaks in Waco.
The suits were filed Tuesday at the federal courthouse in Austin on behalf of five men who have been arrested and indicted for allegedly conspiring to engage in organized crime to commit assault and murder in McLennan County last May.
They include Matthew Clendennen, a former firefighter and graduate of Baylor University who has no prior criminal record.
Those named in the suits are McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna, Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman, Waco Police Detective Manuel Chavez and a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper who has yet to be identified.
A May clash between the Cossacks and Bandidos motorcycle clubs left at least nine people killed, 18 wounded and 270 arrested.
So far, 105 bikers have been indicted as the grand jury continues to probe the incident. Their indictments, issued last week, name 10 dead and 24 wounded, but authorities have declined requests to clarify the reported climb in the death toll and number of wounded.
Waco Police said it would be up to Reyna to comment as the indictments are handled by his office. Reyna has not yet responded to multiple requests for clarification.
Meanwhile, Reyna and the other parties named in the lawsuits have yet to respond to them with court filings.
The lawsuit makes many contentions, including that officials have pursued charges against so many people without any particular evidence against them, such as who specifically shot, stabbed or beat whom, and that motorcycle enthusiasts with no criminal records have been branded members of street gangs.
“As gunfire erupted, video evidence conclusively proves that the vast majority of the individuals present at the location did not participate in any violent activity, but instead ran away from gunfire or ducked for cover,” notes the lawsuit, filed by lawyers Clint Broden and Don Tittle.
“Once the shooting ceased, law enforcement officers immediately took control of the premises. The individuals were compliant and did not resist commands of law enforcement,” the suit continues.
The lawsuit contends police and other authorities learned the vast majority of the bikers were not near the violence and had no hand in it but still had them arrested and held on $1 million bail each.
The suit also states that while there is no question that police — who were in place in advance of the bikers’ arrival at Twin Peaks — fired their rifles at bikers, there has been no explanation from police regarding how many of the dead or wounded were hit by officers’ bullets.