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 Bandidos motorcycle club to hold Moab rally |
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| Bandidos motorcycle club to hold Moab rally |
   
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The Bandidos Motorcycle Club is coming to town in mid-August for their annual business meeting and Sheriff Jim Nyland said he expects club members to be on their best behavior. Nyland and Moab City Police Chief Mike Navarre have made preparations to ensure the public safety. The club will be camping on private property near Moab, Nyland said.
Visiting law enforcement officers will be in Moab the weekend of Aug. 22-25 to help monitor the group, which is expected to include anywhere from 300 to 1,000 motorcyclists.
?Law enforcement activities will be beefed up,? Nyland said. ?We should be well organized without any problem at all.?
Capt. Mike Forshee of the Utah County Sheriff?s Department often monitors motorcycle club rallies like this one. He said the Bandidos bring their own security personnel to keep track of group members and make sure no one bothers them.
?I?m not too much concerned about what they?re going to do. They pride themselves in taking care of their own business,? Forshee said. ?A lot of the problems we see are related to disagreements between their club and someone else?s club.? But Forshee said he, too, worries about local reactions to Bandidos members.
?Sheriff Nyland is planning early, basically to facilitate [the Bandidos] coming and leaving. We just like to make sure that all laws are kept, on both sides,? Forshee said. He said there is no reason for the community to be alarmed.
Nyland has been working with Forshee and with the sheriff?s office in Coconino County, where the club held its annual business meeting last year. Reports from the Coconino Sheriff?s office indicated no major disruptions or problems, according to both Nyland and Forshee.
?It will be well organized at our end,? Nyland said. ?I don?t want to alarm the community, just inform them so there will be no surprises.?
Members of the Bandidos club, which is based in Texas, could not be reached for comment.
The Bandidos, whose logo is a caricature of a chubby, armed Mexican bandit, most recently made headlines in 2007 when four Bandidos members were beaten and stabbed in Eureka Springs, Ark. by members of a rival Hell?s Angels motorcycle club. According to news reports, the likely motive for the incident was related to a territory dispute.
During the club?s annual business meeting members make plans and policy for the next year. The meeting takes place each year following the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, which draws thousands of motorcyclists each year, Forshee said.
Navarre said he is convinced there will be no trouble. He and Nyland have been planning for the Bandidos arrival for several months and both feel they are well-prepared to accommodate the visitors without any trouble.
Navarre said business people ask him if they should be armed or take special precautions when they take their nightly deposits to the bank. ?No,? is his answer. ?The club does not indulge in threats to the public.? But, he added, anyone going to the bank who feels the need can call the police department and an escort will be provided.
http://www.moabtimes.com/pages/full_stor...comments_110284
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25.07.2008 11:59 |
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