Judge Rules Police Can't Block Defense Lawyer from Seeing Waco Motorcycle Club Massacre Video Footage
But evidence of what really happened in that shootout will still be kept secret from the public
Great news of an at least partial crack in the wall of obfuscation the Waco police have built around what actually happened that day last month when nine people were killed and 18 wounded by gunfire at a political meeting of biker clubs at the Twin Peaks restaurant.
I reported last week that the police tried to quash a subpoena (sent to someone else!) that would have called forth restaurant videos to help Matthew Clendennen in his defense against criminal charges and in his lawsuit essentially for false imprisonment, as he was one of 177 people arrested willy-nilly on a blanket charge of "engaging in organized criminal activity."
Today local TV KCEN reports:
The Twin Peaks surveillance video will not be shared to the public. Judge Matt Johnson said Tuesday morning that he will allow the defense to view video but a protective order will be placed on it. Johnson went on to say that the video cannot be viewed by the public in any way, shape or form.
The city of Waco was in court on Tuesday morning to fight the release of the surveillance video.
During the hearing, it was argued that the video should not be released due to the potential interference during the Waco Police Department's investigation.
Matthew Clendennen's Attorney Clint Broden argued that he needed the video for his case.
Judge Johnson entered a gag order in the case, which will limit only the defense and state attorneys from discussing the case in the media.
More from local TV KXXV, including that Broden plans to appeal the gag order regarding the video.
Those hoping for justice in this case clearly need to pray for leaks. That the police in this case are trying to hide possible evidence of their own misconduct is a presumption that only they can dispel, and they don't seem eager to do so for some reason. My detailed account on all the strange things about the incident and the way the police have dealt with it.
