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Off-Duty Seattle Police Officer Involved In Sturgis Biker Shooting

By David Packman

An off-duty Seattle police officer and member of the "Iron Pigs" motorcycle club, a biker group comprised of law enforcement officer and firefighters, is being investigated after being detained as a result of a shooting in Sturgis South Dakota this weekend. The Seattle Police Department has put this unnamed officer and 4 other officers who were with him on administrative duty while Sturgis police and other local authorities investigate the shooting that left one "Hells Angels" motorcycle club member hospitalized.

The shooting occurred around 1:00am inside a bar called the Loud American Roadhouse that held about 500 patrons at the time of the shooting. Accounts differ as to how many shots were fired, from 2 to 8, but the officer involved alleges that the shots were fired in self defense after a fight broke out between members of the Iron Pigs and Hells Angels, according to the Seattle Police Officer's Guild.

The unnamed officer involved reportedly has a history of disciplinary actions against him, including one incident at a Seattle Seahawks game where he taunted Seahawks fans while he was working as security and another incident where he allegedly threatened to shoot a restaurant owner while off-duty after the owner asked him to leave. However, the police guild has issued statements of support, suggesting that the officer was attacked without provocation and anticipating that he will be vindicated when video evidence taken from the bar becomes available.

However, irregardless of the nature of the shooting the officer may face legal consequences for having a concealed weapon inside an establishment that serves alcohol, which is illegal in South Dakota, as is carrying a weapon while intoxicated in that state. While off-duty officers are allowed to carry their service weapons even across state lines, they must still abide by the laws of the localities they visit in regard to their carry laws. Witnesses say the officer was taken into custody in the bar, where the shooting also took place, but no information has been released as to whether a sobriety test was administered as part of the investigation.

(To highlight how rules about concealed weapons apply to officers, a recent politically motivated nightclub sting operation in Seattle, dubbed "operation sobering thought", resulted in the arrest of some nightclub employees because they allowed known undercover officers into bars with their service weapons.)

The Seattle Police Department has sent a contingent of officers to Sturgis to oversee the investigation while authorities remain quiet about details of the investigation and information surrounding the identity of officers involved and the wounded individual at this time. Sturgis authorities have stated that the officer has been released after questioning, but will not say whether any charges are pending or will be filed.

A number of civil suits were filed recently over another off-duty police officer shooting incident in Seattle's Post Alley where an officer, Zsolt Dornay, allegedly hit a woman with his motorcycle, shoved her into a wall, and then shot a local defense attorney when people in the late-night bar crowd had allegedly attacked him over the incident. It's unknown as to whether that officer was a member of the Iron Pigs group or if that officer is among the five officers involved in the Sturgis shooting. However, the description of the misconduct complaints allegedly filed against the officer who fired the shots in the Sturgis incident don't match the Post Alley officer's misconduct record.

Sources:
The Rapid City Journal
The Seattle Post Intelligencer

UPDATED 08/11/08 16:16- added information on a somewhat related shooting incident involving an off-duty officer on a motorcycle per commenter request.

UPDATE: 08/11/08 19:22 - The Meade County Times has released the names of the officer and victim allegedly involved in the Sturgis biker rally shooting. However, the sources of this information have not been revealed nor are there any corroborating stories confirming those released names at this time.

Full post as published by Injustice in Seattle on August 11, 2008 (boomark / email).