The New Mexico Motorcyclists Rights Organization has condemned the actions of a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputy who was caught drawing his gun and pointing it out of the window of his patrol car at a motorcyclist passing him by on the road over the weekend.
The incident happened at around 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 14, when officers located a group of some 50 bikers who they had received complaints about for their raucous behavior through the streets of Albuquerque. Reports detail the bikers blocking traffic, racing and pulling tricks along Paseo del Norte. A 24-second video clip gone viral shows one rider popping a willie. But upon second glance, it also captures the moment an officer in the background aims his firearm at the man.
Bernalillo County officials have continued to pursue the riders in the press, asking for tips into who might have been part of the group. But defenders of the bikers are calling for punishment of the deputy who they say went to the extreme on Tramway that day. The Sheriff has publicly backed the deputy, stating that he was within protocol after fearing for his life. According to him, the group began surrounding his police car and throwing up gang signs. But at least one party who was present says the officers positioned themselves amid they motorcyclists and that they had, rather, given him the middle finger for tracking them.
