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 Bikers to make their case to Modesto council |
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| Bikers to make their case to Modesto council |
   
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Most Envied members say they are law-abiding, but police have their doubts
By ADAM ASHTON
aashton@modbee.com
Most Envied members say they are law-abiding, but police have their doubts
The Modesto City Council is giving the Most Envied motorcycle club a chance to make its case that police have discriminated against its members.
The council scheduled a hearing for its Tuesday meeting to consider the motorcycle club's complaint that Modesto police officers have followed and harassed its members.
Police say they have watched the motorcycle club because officers suspect it's tied to outlaw gangs, such as the Hell's Angels.
Sgt. Craig Gundlach said officers have not arrested Most Envied members for gang-related crimes since the club formed a year and a half ago. And because of that, he said, the police have not declared the club a criminal gang.
The club's founder, Luis Vera of Modesto, insists the police image is wrong. "We are not a gang; we are a motorcycle club," he told the council last week.
Gundlach said the club caught the attention of police officers because its black vest and patches resemble patterns that police believe must be approved by the Hell's Angels.
Several Hell's Angels members were among the roughly 100 bikers who showed up at last week's City Council meeting to support Most Envied.
"The mere fact that they're wearing these vests with these patches is an indicator that something else is going on," Gundlach said.
Most Envied's leadership approached the council last week to speak up for members who they say want only to participate in community events and ride motorcycles. They said the club played a role in raising money to keep open the public pool in C?sar Ch?vez Park when city budget cuts threatened to close it.
They described police as harassing their members by pulling them over for insignificant traffic violations, following them after celebrations for Mexican holidays, taking pictures of them and watching their homes.
Vera said he has been pulled over 11 times by officers without getting a citation.
"I've gotten pulled over. Everybody gets pulled over and never gets citations," said Tony Hernandez of Modesto, the club vice president.
Hernandez declined to answer a question about Most Envied's link to the Hell's Angels on Thursday, but he expects it to come up at the council meeting.
NAACP chapter investigating
The Stanislaus County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is investigating the motorcycle club's complaints to determine whether police discriminated against its members. Two NAACP leaders asked for the hearing at the council meeting.
The scheduled hearing gives the council a chance to ask questions and consider the complaint. At last week's meeting, the council only could hear the club's grievance. State public meeting laws prohibit elected officials from acting on items that aren't on their published agendas.
Gundlach denied police were profiling the mostly Latino club because of a racial bias.
"There may not be right now any one thing law enforcement can point to and say, 'Because of this, you are a documented gang,' " Gundlach said. "They may never reach that point, and if they don't that's well and good, but I can tell you right now there are many indicators that Most Envied is more than a group of men who get together and ride motorcycles."
Bee staff writer Adam Ashton can be reached at aashton@modbee.com or 578-2366.
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/352165.html
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08.07.2008 14:59 |
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