Considering the event in question was a COC&I meeting, normally a non-violent event--a meeting between club member bikers and independent bikers for the purpose of discussing legislative issues, road construction areas, and run schedules to prevent scheduling conflicts--violence was far from a given. In fact, it would be the exception, rather than the rule in the history of such meetings.
Therefore, if the police anticipated some violent confrontation, (which would have been most abnormal, given the meeting scheduled), either they had people on the inside of the clubs involved in the conflict at Waco, or they had agents inside those groups who had provoked the incident, and done so well enough in advance that this meeting had heavy LEO attendance as well.
In most circles, these are known as agents provocateur. If the 'word came back through the grapevine' that there was to be a violent confrontation, follow the grapevine to its very blue roots.
The presence of Waco, County, State, and Federal LEOs, including BATFE at the shindig indicates some serious planning in LEO land, some heavy forethought, whether malice was present or not.
The presence of marked police vehicles in and around what is supposed to be a peaceful meeting may have a provocative aspect of its own. Certainly, bikers notice increased law enforcement presence, where normally there is none. That trips a flag--as it should with any person--and causes one to ask, "What's going down? Why so many police?". When that many police come just to sniff your saddlebags, your alert level goes up a notch.
So let me trot out my tinfoil hat for a moment.
Suppose one or more Informants or Undercover Agents were to tell members of the specific club they had infiltrated to 'let it all hang out, the police will be there and they've got your back'.
No one is disputing that there was/is enmity between a couple of the groups which showed up.
Normally, such is suppressed for the purpose of dealing with more universal issues in a venue for that, like COC&I meetings, which deal with issues which are problems for all bikers. But throwing something into the mix which might make one group or another be a mite more cocky or stressed--or both--makes fertile ground for conflict.
LEOs know this, they use Ericksonian Hypnosis techniques to extract information from susceptible suspects daily. After all the PSYOPS division of Obama's government just openly got the green light to 'nudge' the general population, and an event like this (pilot project?) is perfect for pushing the 'guilt by association' meme at the American people just when TEA Party season is rolling around again.
So are we just seeing a colossal (and potentially profitable, between property seizure, bond, jail usage (177 beds?), attorney fees, court costs, etc.) operation designed to hammer at the ideas of freedom of association, due process, and the 4th Amendment, to name a few?
So far, this has cost the accused their jobs, businesses, a small fortune on bond costs, attorney fees, and so much more. It has cost the owner of the restaurant his business, his franchise, and God only knows what else. It has cost more than a few their lives, or pain and suffering from being wounded, not to mention lost time at work.
The autopsy reports have been released. The Medical Examiner's job is not to provide ballistics data, but cause of death and evidence related thereto is either in the report or referred to those considered qualified to catalog and identify it. We still don't know who was shot by police, or by who else. We still await the video form the scene, recorded by business security cameras, police dashcams, pole cameras erected by police, and personal cell phones and other recording devices. Those of the latter which have been returned (all were confiscated) were wiped.
So the police control the evidence, and thus control the narrative.
When discovery occurs, we won't even know how much Brady Material has been buried, erased, altered, edited, or simply made to disappear. Winston Smith would have loved electronic data.
But in virtually every other instance when the police controlled the narrative, like the last time an incident in Waco captured national attention, there was abundant coverage of the event, video released in very short order, which only after careful analysis and consideration showed irregularities between the official statements and actual events. Evidence disappeared from that event--critical evidence which would have showed who shot first.
There is another tie to that event.
Swanton was also involved in the aftermath at Mount Carmel and was awarded the Police Commendation bar along with his other teammates for their involvement.National Institute of Crime Prevention
Now, I would hesitate to guess when these cases will be resolved, but I would bet it is not going to be for a while.
Why?
Waco Police Sgt. Swanton Says He'll Run For Sheriff In 2016
There is a lot to this you won't read about in the Waco Tribune.
Excellent post.