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[RJ749]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008103470_sturgiscop10m.html

Seattle officer held in Sturgis Motorcycle Rally shooting

An off-duty Seattle police officer has been detained after a member of a Hells Angels motorcycle gang was shot during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, police said.

By Jim Brunner

Seattle Times staff reporter

An off-duty Seattle police officer was detained Saturday after shooting a member of the Hells Angels motorcycle club during a bar brawl at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota, police said.

The officer, who was not identified, was involved in an early-morning fracas Saturday at the Loud American Roadhouse, according to a statement from Sturgis police.

The confrontation erupted about 1 a.m. between members of the Hells Angels and the Iron Pigs, a motorcycle club made up of police and firefighters. There were about 500 people in the bar at the time and a rock band was playing, according to the Rapid City Journal.

Two gunshots were fired, and the shooter was identified by Sturgis police as a law-enforcement officer.

There was no word on the condition of the victim, who was hospitalized.

The Seattle Police Department was notified Saturday morning, according to a statement issued in the evening by Seattle police spokesman Sean Whitcomb.

The statement said that four other Seattle officers were also present when the Sturgis shooting occurred.

Whitcomb declined to name the officers.

All five officers involved were placed on administrative reassignment and relieved of duty pending the investigation by South Dakota authorities, Whitcomb said.

Sturgis Police Chief Jim Bush told the Rapid City Journal that police detained and questioned numerous people at the scene but that no arrests had been made and nobody was in custody.

"We're still trying to ascertain for sure who did the shooting," Bush told the newspaper. "We have suspects. We have a lot of information to put together."

Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske has dispatched a team of homicide and internal-affairs investigators to Sturgis to gather information, Whitcomb said.


"The Seattle Police Department considers this a matter of utmost seriousness," the Seattle police statement said.

Sturgis police said in their statement they will investigate the shooting, aided by federal, state and county law enforcement, and the results will be presented to an investigative grand jury.

The famous Sturgis rally draws hundreds of thousands of motorcycle riders to the small South Dakota town every summer. This year's rally ends today.

Jim Brunner: 206-515-5628 or jbrunner@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

[Capo]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008145767_sturgis29m.html

Seattle cop charged in Sturgis bar fight; so is Hells Angel
A Seattle police detective accused of shooting and wounding a Hells Angels member during a South Dakota bar fight earlier this month was charged with felony assault and perjury on Thursday.

By Jennifer Sullivan

Seattle Times staff reporter

Map data ©2008 Tele Atlas - Terms of UseSee more mapped stories
A Seattle police detective who claims he shot a Hells Angels member during a South Dakota bar fight in self-defense has been charged with aggravated assault and perjury.

Detective Ron Smith was charged Thursday after a two-day grand-jury hearing by the Meade County, S.D., Circuit Court. He is also charged with a misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

Smith, 43, declined to comment on the charges Thursday. He said he was planning to hire an attorney.

In a recent interview with The Seattle Times, Smith said he shot Hells Angel Joseph McGuire on Aug. 9 after McGuire and a group of bikers jumped him inside the Loud American Roadhouse during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.

An aggravated-assault charge was filed against McGuire, 33, of Imperial Beach, Calif.

If Smith and McGuire are convicted of aggravated assault, they each face up to 15 years in prison. A perjury conviction is punishable by up to five years' imprisonment.

Smith had traveled to the rally with fellow members of the Iron Pigs, a motorcycle club made up of police officers and firefighters.

Also charged Thursday with misdemeanor counts were four Iron Pigs who were with Smith at the bar. They are Scott Lazalde, 38, of Bellingham; James Rector, 44, of Ferndale, Whatcom County; Erik Pingel, 35, of Aurora, Colo.; and Seattle police Sgt. Dennis McCoy, 49, of Seattle. Lazalde and Rector are longtime members of U.S. Customs and Border Inspection and stationed in Blaine. All are charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. A conviction on the misdemeanor could result in up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Meade County State Attorney Jesse Sondreal filed the charges Thursday morning.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company