No major incidents in Windsor-Essex after a visit from the Hells Angels.
Over 750 members of the Hells Angels and other motorcycle clubs were in the region last week on Wednesday and into the weekend.
Windsor Police state that officers carried out approximately 40 enforcement actions under the Highway Traffic Act, municipal bylaws, and the Excise Act.
Police were informing the public to leave the members of the motorcycle gangs alone.
Windsor Police Chief Jason Crowley says the majority of the time, the group was around their clubhouse in Amherstburg, as well as a number of strip clubs and bars in the region.
Crowley says it played out exactly how police thought it would.
“No big issues at all. There was large groups of motorcycles and people wearing colours throughout the community and certainly on Howard by their clubhouse, a lot of traffic, but really no, no big issues at all. And just like we said to people, they’re just going to keep themselves and they did.”
He says it was important to give the community a heads-up prior to their arrival.
“We would have got calls if we wouldn’t have put something out that there’s large groups of Hells Angels spotted in the downtown core, ‘what’s going on’, we would have got that. So it’s just better to get front of it and say, ‘hey, look, there’s nothing really to be worried about here’. Even though we know there is a background of organized crime and some very concerning issues, but for this event, we really didn’t expect much in the way of social disorder, and we didn’t get that.”
He says any member of Hells Angels is of interest to the police.
“We’re interested in why, what their motivation is, and, you know, they’re going to do a lot of talking about raising money for charity and those kind of things. But we know what’s behind every member of the Hells Angels and the puppet clubs, and we’re interested. We’re interested in what their motivation is and what they’re doing.”
Crowley adds that while there was heightened police presence and minor concerns from the public, the community did benefit through local restaurants, bars, and hotels being booked.
He adds that the Biker Enforcement Unit, as part of the OPP, was a big help in the success of the weekend.
-with files from AM800’s The Shift with guest host Michelle Maluske