Daytona Cops

Police Chief Mike Chitwood, known throughout his career as a Dirty Harry wannabe, and his Deputy Chief Steve Beres decided Bike Week 2011 was the perfect time to escalate their ongoing vendetta against the Outlaws Motorcycle Club.

Deputy Chief Beres contacted the property owner of the building rented to the Outlaws Club members for Bike Week. Beres threatened to take retaliatory actions against the businessman's other properties if he didn't get the Outlaws out of his building. Beres claimed the location was a problem because it wasn’t zoned as a place to sleep or hold parties. They threatened to search for code violations on the warehouse owner's other properties if he didn’t get the Outlaws out immediately! The Club members, most of whom had traveled great distances to meet and relax with old friends, were forced to leave the grounds.

Did Chief Chitwood and Deputy Chief Beres take this action because Outlaws members were causing trouble or violating the law? The answer is NO. All it accomplished was harassing a targeted group of people, and denying individuals their constitutional rights. It also got Chief Chitwood and Deputy Chief Beres' free publicity, which Chitwood is well known for throughout his 40 year career.

Deputy Chief Beres' stated his reason for this action: "If we can keep a step ahead of something happening, we're going to do it. We're not going to stop, sit by and just wait for something to happen."

With thousands of out-of-town visitors in Daytona for Bike Week, it appears that Deputy Chief Beres was more interested in this "fanciful supposition" than serious police work. Chitwood and Beres made no attempt to apply these bogus zoning and code restriction measures to any other group during the festivities. This was, however, the fourth time Chitwood had tried these tactics with the Outlaws.

Worst of all, these so-called police officers violated the law themselves. Every law enforcement member of the U.S. is required to swear an oath to uphold the laws and protect the Constitutional Rights of American citizens. The police actions taken against the Outlaws members in this case are clearly an arrogant abuse of power and a deliberate disregard for this country's laws.

According to what Chief Chitwood and Deputy Chief Beres admitted in their interviews, they violated the rights of today's club members because of acts committed by others decades ago. Punishing people who have done nothing wrong because of someone else's behavior thirty years ago is ridiculous, fundamentally wrong, and a violation of law.

Constitutional Rights do not hinge on the color of your skin, the clothing you wear, if you ride a motorcycle, or even if you belong to a 1%er motorcycle club. The Constitution specifically guarantees that everyone will be treated equally under the law.

Motorcycle club members from every club have to realize that abuses of power such as these are steadily increasing. There can be no doubt our freedom and way of life are under attack. It's time to fight back. The only way we can do that is in the federal court. We must act to force out-of-control cops like these to follow the law. Below is the weapon that will stop ego-tripping cops who step over the line, abuse their power and disrespect the U.S. Constitution like Chitwood and Beres.

42 U.S.C. § 1983 Civil Rights Violation Petition

The law states that; "A person states a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 if he alleges that the defendant deprived him of a constitutional right while acting “under color” of state law. "

Specifically, § 1983 provides that: "Every person who, under color of any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage, of any State or Territory or the District of Columbia, subjects, or causes to be subjected, any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof to the deprivation of any rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution and laws, shall be liable to the party injured in an action at law, suit in equity, or other proper proceeding for redress-----."