CANADA - Darksiders move to Bridgewater worries police

OFF THE WIRE
Police specializing in organized crime are keeping a close watch on the Darksiders, a Dartmouth-based motorcycle club that recently expanded to Bridgewater.

The Darksiders are renting a space on King Street, a main road in the South Shore town.

Members of the RCMP-Halifax police outlaw motorcycle task force watched and wrote down names as the group held its first party.

Police say the club is a criminal group set up to defend turf for the Hells Angels.

Bridgewater Police Chief John Collyer is waiting to see what happens.

"When you're dealing with a motorcycle group I guess the question is whether they are a criminal enterprise or whether they are just a group of individuals who like to ride motorcycles," he told CBC News.

The Darksiders have had a clubhouse on Portland Street in Dartmouth for three years. They started off as the Dartmouth Harley Club, but quickly changed their name.
'Good jobs'

Mike Weatherley, the group's sergeant-at-arms, said police constantly watch club members. He said the Darksiders support the Hells Angels, but said his club is not a criminal organization.

"Because they are involved in crime doesn't mean we're involved in crime. Most of the guys here, we all have good jobs, we all own our own companies," he said.

Weatherley's biker vest is covered in red and white pins paying homage to the Hells Angels. He said the affiliation with the biker gang grew out of a friendship between one Darksider and a childhood friend, who's a member of the Hells Angels in Ontario.

The Darksiders claim their rental space in Bridgewater is not a clubhouse but rather a space to relax for a few days during bike trips.

Collyer said his police force will keep an eye on the bikers.

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2011/12/15/ns-darksiders-bridgewater.html