BANFF – Members of the Hells Angels were on their best behaviour during a recent visit to Banff, but five members of the outlaw motorcycle gang were slapped with tickets for blowing through stop signs and red lights in the tourist town.
On the weekend of July 15-16, the RCMP led a joint-forces operation with the gang enforcement unit, known as the Integrated Gang Enforcement Team, as well as the Calgary Police Service.
Banff’s Mounties, who were supported by RCMP from throughout the southern Alberta district and had a strong police presence downtown, had notified Banff’s Bar Watch organization ahead of time that members of the outlaw motorcycle club would be in town.
Members of the Hells Angels – most from various chapters in Quebec and some Alberta chapter members as well – were banned from local licensed establishments as allowed under provincial law.
“The objective of the operation was to maintain public safety and public confidence through a visible police presence, pro-active engagement with the Hells Angels members, and enforcement of federal and provincial statutes,” said Staff Sgt. Mike Buxton-Carr, detachment commander for the Banff RCMP.
Buxton-Carr said the RCMP division liaison team met with representatives of Hells Angels chapters and explained its position with respect to Section 69.1 of the Alberta Liquor, Gaming and Cannabis Act (GLCA).
He said The Hells Angels were responsive to this outreach.
“The RCMP exercised the authority provided by 69.1 GLCA to exclude gang members from licensed premises and issued a total of five violation tickets for failing to stop for red lights or stop signs,” said Buxton-Carr.
Hells Angels, nicknamed The Red & White for the club’s colours, was founded in California in 1948 and is the best known of the so-called outlaw motorcycle gangs.
The Hells Angels established their first Canadian chapters in Quebec during the 1970s.
