Ohio police kill biker club member from Maine

OFF THE WIRE
Harry Seavey, 51, of South Portland dies in a shootout outside a Cincinnati bar.

By David Hench dhench@mainetoday.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Staff Writer

A Maine member of a national motorcycle club was killed in a shootout with police outside a bar in Ohio last weekend.

Cincinnati police said Harry W. Seavey Jr., 51, of South Portland was killed in the gunbattle outside JD's Honkey Tonk and Emporium on Saturday night. Two undercover officers were injured and another member of the Iron Horsemen was shot in the foot, police said.

It wasn't clear Tuesday whether Seavey knew that the officers approaching the bar were police or if he thought they were from a rival gang.

Seavey had served jail time in Maine for possession of a firearm by a felon, driving with a suspended license, carrying a concealed weapon and drug trafficking. He was wanted in Scarborough, Portland and South Portland on charges of drunken driving and driving after license suspension last fall, and a charge of cruelty to a dog in March.

Portland police arrested Seavey in 2002 during a period of intense rivalry between motorcycle groups supporting the Hells Angels, such as the Iron Horsemen, and those supporting the Outlaws. The conflict spilled into Portland's Old Port.

In Ohio, Seavey was standing watch in a doorway of the bar while a handful of other Iron Horsemen gathered in a courtyard, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. A few other people were in the small bar.

As undercover agents approached the bar, Seavey yelled to the others that something was about to happen. Seavey fired at the agents, police said, and officers returned fire, killing him. The two injured officers were treated at a hospital and released.

It was not clear how long Seavey had been in Ohio, or why.

Seavey is the second Maine motorcycle gang member to be fatally shot in a police raid in recent months. Thomas Mayne, a member of the Outlaws, was killed in Old Orchard Beach on June 15 after police say he fired at federal agents who were trying to arrest him.

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