Waco Biker Mass Arrests: How To Let Go of a Tiger Without Getting Bit

After choosing the “arrest ‘em all, let God sort ‘em out” approach to law enforcement, authorities in Waco appear to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. Perhaps an even better way of putting it… After grabbing hold of a tiger, how can they let go without getting bit? (Thanks Rick, for stating it so perfectly!)

The Waco Biker Arrests of 177 people, most of whom had no connection whatsoever to the tragedy, has provided Waco City and County officials with a seemingly limited number of choices, ranging from bad to worse.

They can attempt to indict everyone, thus doubling down on an already terrible bet; or they can allow most of those charged to be “no-billed” by a McLennan County grand jury, and wait for the inevitable onslaught of civil lawsuits. Something tells me neither option looks particularly inviting to the Powers That Be, especially now that reports are trickling out that the police themselves may be responsible for many of the dead and injured. The national media is waiting to pounce, and undoubtedly, decision-makers in Waco are quite aware.

Bad Choice No. 1: Attempting to prosecute all 177 seems their worst choice, and also the most unlikely. Not only would it require millions of dollars of taxpayer money, to do so would subject City and County officials to ridicule from all angles, especially as “not guilty” after “not guilty” start rolling in. They would end up with nothing to show for their foolishness, except substantially greater financial exposure from civil damage suits.

Bad Choice No. 2: Dismissing the vast majority of the 177, or achieving the same result by allowing a grand jury to issue “no bills” on most of the 177, is probably not a particularly attractive option either. Enduring the ultimate “OOPS!” moment would surely result in massive public ridicule for those responsible for this debacle. In this scenario, expect the voters to hold District Attorney Abel Reyna and others responsible at their first electoral opportunity. As with “Bad Choice No. 1” above, the end result would be to open the floodgates to countless civil suits.

How They May Try to Escape the Noose
Faced with these poor options, those responsible may attempt to let this incident die on the vine. Initially, look for indictments only against those whom the DA believes he can sustain a conviction, i.e. those directly involved in the shootings. As for the rest, I wouldn’t be surprised if they attempt to sit on those cases for as a long as possible. Effectively doing nothing in an attempt to let the clock run out on the deadlines for filing civil cases.

A possible variation on the “do nothing” strategy could involve good old-fashioned coercion. Having blindly overcharged many individuals whom they must realize are completely innocent, I would expect the DA to start offering significantly reduced charges (including misdemeanor deferred adjudication) in exchange for a plea of guilty. The plan here is simple; strong-arm an innocent biker who has had their life turned upside down into signing whatever is placed before him/her that promises a way out.

The catch: a plea to any offense related to the incident likely results in the elimination of an individual’s right to pursue a civil rights lawsuit.

For every plea entered, the City and the County dodge potentially large civil liability and, probably as important in their eyes, save face for their otherwise precedent setting screw up. Given their recent penchant for bad decisions, counting on innocent individuals to plead guilty to something they didn’t do may be their worst miscalculation yet!