Police Harassed Hells Angels

Re “Hells Angels Uneasy Riders During Event,” Sept. 8:

It’s so sad to see a good police department stoop to sweating the little stuff when it cites members of the Hells Angels club for jaywalking.

Jaywalking? Am I missing something? How many citations for jaywalking have been issued in the entire past year in all of Ventura County? How many in Simi Valley? I’m betting the Hells Angels attorney can win his case on just these statistics.

As a combat veteran of World War II, I really don’t relish realizing that trifles are what I fought for. Please, don’t tell me. Better to keep me in the dark.

ANDREW CHAKIRES, Ventura

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I read with interest Simi Police Chief Randy Adams’ contention and council members Sandi Webb and Paul Miller’s concurrence that the “normal” police patrolling of the 1-mile stretch of the street in front of the hosting Elks Club by 15 law enforcement officers on three motorcycles, seven patrol cars and two parking enforcement vehicles was nothing extraordinary and did not constitute harassment of the Poker Ride’s participants, many of whom were indeed Hells Angels.

I live directly across the street from where the event was held this year and last year and personally observed what occurred last Sunday. The smug look on the officers’ faces as they did what was “legal” and ignored what was “just” should have left no doubt in the mind of our elected officials that what was being done was being done with relish.

Last year’s event was well organized and attended. Seeing hundreds of beautiful, classic and rare motorcycles in one place was a treat for my family and myself. The participants were far less obnoxious and intrusive than the crowd at Simi’s recent Fourth of July fireworks display.

What I--and many of my neighbors--saw Sunday was a police department given carte blanche to break up an event that the department decided was unwanted. They succeeded in ruining the event for the participants, the Elks, some of the residents who were represented by this “thin blue line” and, ultimately, the charity that really lost out.

Simi has enough problems without becoming the “Copland” of Southern California. We don’t have to ask if the event will be back next year.

STEPHEN J. CRAMER, Simi Valley