Friday, Aug 18, 2006
The annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally officially ran from August 7th through August 13th, with heavy motorcycle traffic beginning several days in advance of the official start date.
This year’s rally was marked by the extensive advance intelligence received indicating that there would be a large outlaw motorcycle gang presence with the potential for violence, both of which proved to be the case. As noted in a previous edition, there was a gang-related shooting at Legion Lake in Custer State Park just south of the park on August 8th that resulted in the injury of six people associated with the Outlaws motorcycle gang and the arrest of two men associated with the Hells Angels motorcycle gang who are alleged to have done the shooting. Two rangers from Mount Rushmore were called to assist in the follow-up investigation at the scene of the shooting under terms of an existing cooperative agreement with Custer County Sheriff’s Office.
The shootings raised the tension level throughout the entire Black Hills area, as the threat of more violence was ever present. The Outlaws were camped en masse at a private campground approximately 10 miles south of Mount Rushmore and the park experienced several large organized rides by the gang, one resulting in a high-risk vehicle stop for a traffic violation that was documented in an earlier report.
On August 11th, rangers participated in a large interagency law enforcement operation aimed at managing 100 or more members of the Outlaws who made rides through Mount Rushmore, then settled in for several hours in the small town of Keystone immediately adjacent to the park’s northeast boundary.
The NPS was represented at the interagency command center set up in Keystone along with the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals, ATF, FBI, South Dakota Highway Patrol, U.S. Forest Service and others. A total of approximately 104 officers from these agencies, including 23 NPS rangers, were involved in the operation, and there were no serious incidents.
On August 12th, rangers contacted a member of the Outlaws gang and associates who were engaged in commercial filming within the park without a permit. That contact included an in depth interview with the gang member and resulted in a warning and additional intelligence information.
In addition to the high level of gang traffic and activity, rangers responded to three motor vehicle accidents, provided 15 medical assists, issued 57 violation notices, and made seven arrests. During the rally period, approximately 119,470 motorcyclists visited the park. This number is in addition to the visitors arriving by sedans, buses, and other vehicles.
Park staff hosted and provided special tours for a number of VIP’s during the period, including, among others, retired general Tommy Franks, director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs W. Patrick Ragsdale, BIA regional special agent in charge Elmer Four Dance, BLM deputy director Larry Benna, BLM regional special agent in charge Bart Fitzgerald, and the prince and princess of Italy. Rangers also had visits from a number of interagency law enforcement personnel from throughout the area and the nation.
Mount Rushmore rangers managed operations and events related to the rally with great assistance from the Midwest Region SETT and Midwest Regional Office personnel. All NPS personnel associated with the operation performed in an outstanding manner under very busy and stressful conditions.
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