Six Bikers Arrested in Twin Peaks Shootout Are Suing Waco Police

They claim their civil rights were violated.

The May motorcycle gang parking lot shootout at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas led to nine deaths, nearly 200 arrests, and a growing number of lawsuits. The latest? Six bikers indicted on first-degree felony charges of engaging in organized criminal activity have now filed federal lawsuits against local authorities, according to the Waco-Tribune Herald. The bikers are seeking damages, claiming their civil rights were violated when they were falsely arrested and denied due process. Similar lawsuits are expected to follow from others held in the wake of the shootout.

Matthew Clendennen, Robert Bucy, George Bergman, Noe Adame, Jorge Salinas, and John Vensel are plaintiffs seeking damages in the case, which names as defendants McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna, Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman, Waco police detective Manuel Chavez "and a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper referred to in the lawsuit as 'John Doe,'" the Waco-Tribune Herald notes.

Among the allegations made in the lawsuit are that none of the plaintiffs are members of criminal gangs, that police displayed legally-held knives and guns to create a false narrative of outlaw motorcycle gangs battling, and that "authorities violated [the plaintiffs'] constitutional rights by using 'identical fill-in-the-name affidavits,'" reports news station WFAA 8. The suit also makes the claim that "As the gunfire erupted, video evidence conclusively proves that the vast majority of the individuals present did not participate in any violent activity but instead ran away from the gunfire or ducked for cover," a claim you can evaluate for yourself in security camera footage from the restaurant.

The widow of a biker killed in the battle is already suing Twin Peaks' parent company for negligence in allowing rival gangs to congregate outside its restaurant despite warnings from police. The parent company, on the other hand, filed suit against the Waco operators, who shuttered the restaurant following the shootout; two customers are also suing the operators for negligence. Autopsy and ballistic reports suggesting which individuals were directly responsible for each of the deaths have not yet been released to the public.

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