Biker swap meets under review

Deepa Bharath

FAIRGROUNDS -- Public safety concerns could spur officials here to

cancel future motorcycle swap meets after a bloody brawl erupted between

rival motorcycle gangs Friday night.

Officials have already decided to call off this year’s last motorcycle

swap meet, which was scheduled to take place Dec. 7. The event was

canceled to give officials the time to take the required “public safety

measures,” said Becky Baily-Findley, the Orange County Fairgrounds

general manager.

“Public safety is our No. 1 priority,” she said. “And we did not feel

we could ensure that level of safety by Dec. 7.”

The fight broke out about 8 p.m. Friday, three hours after the show

started, police said. The swap meet features vendors who sell new and

used motorcycle parts.

Orange County sheriff’s deputies say they are still investigating what

sparked the melee, which involved members of the Hells Angels, Vagos and

Mongols motorcycle gangs.

Baily-Findley said the fairgrounds had deployed more security than

usual for Friday night’s event after a “minor incident” occurred during

the May biker swap meet. But, she said, such an incident has never

happened in the 27 years that this swap meet has been held.

On Friday, two sheriff’s deputies were on duty in addition to four

armed fairgrounds public safety officers and one unarmed officer, she

said.

“I don’t remember anything of this magnitude in any of our events in

the past,” Baily-Findley said.

Orange County Sheriff’s Department officials likely will discuss how

to staff future events at the fairgrounds that have a potential for

violence, spokesman Jim Amormino said.

“I’m sure we will talk about how to prevent these type of incidents,”

he said.

Friday night’s incident was rare and unprecedented, Amormino said.

“It’s not like we did not have security that night,” he said. “But

there were many people fighting. One thing led to another and the

incident escalated into a major brawl. The people fighting far

outnumbered the security personnel.”

Security has usually been “minimal” so far at swap meets and other

similar events at the fairgrounds because such incidents were rare, if

they occurred at all, Amormino said.

Costa Mesa police were also called after the fight started, along with

other agencies, such as Newport Beach and Huntington Beach, said Lt. Dale

Birney.

“I think the only incident that comes close was a similar fight that

broke out in 1981 on the last day of the fair,” he said. “That was a

massive fight, but nothing like that has happened in a long, long time.”

Baily-Findley said fairgrounds administrators are reevaluating whether

the motorcycle swap meet should continue next year.

“We don’t want to dictate interests,” she said. “But we also want to

make our events safe, something families can enjoy.”

-- Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached

at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .