OFF THE WIRE
The civil rights lawsuit filed by Melissa Summerson against the city
of Kingman, Arizona continues to crawl its way through the U.S. Court
for the District of Arizona.
The straightforward case has entered its discovery phase and 14
witnesses have been notified that they will be deposed. Twelve of the
deposition notices were filed last Friday. The deadline for discovery is
February 28. No biker “experts” will be deposed and the case is
unlikely to reach trial. The matter may be settled as early as May Day.
Summerson was fired from her job as a personnel administrator on
December 28, 2012 because her husband was a member of the Desert Road
Riders Motorcycle Club.
GIITEM
Summerson’s firing was part of a widespread witch hunt that began
after a fist fight between alleged members of the Vagos and the Hells
Angels Motorcycle Clubs at Lazy Harry’s Lounge in Bullhead City, Arizona
on December 23, 2011.
An Arizona police force called the Gang and Immigration Intelligence
Team Enforcement Mission decided to pursue enforcement opportunities
against Harley riders in Northwestern Arizona and particularly in
Kingman. The police force with the absurd name refers to itself as
GIITEM, which is supposed to pronounced like the word that urges dogs to
fight. It is widely called the State Gang Task Force.
After the fight at Lazy Harry’s GIITEM urged Kingman to initiate a
virtual ban on club patches. The following summer local and state police
began harassing anyone wearing any patch. Victims of the harassment
included Patriot Guard Riders and members of HOG.
The Suit
Melissa Summerson began working for Kingman in 1996. Her husband
William joined the Desert Road Riders in 2004. His membership in the
club was well known and did not become an issue until after the GIITEM
enforcement initiative began. The Desert Road Riders is widely
considered to be a family club. Members wear a one piece patch and
convicted felons are prohibited from joining.
Two weeks before Melissa Summerson was fired her boss drafted a
letter that read in part: “You are an associate of a documented Criminal
Street Gang, Desert Road Riders a documented support club of the Hell’s
Angels, under A.R.S. 13-105. As such, your association with Criminal
Street Gangs causes us great concern. Because Criminal Street Gangs are
known to have strict rules which controls (sic) the behavior and
functions of its members, your access to confidential information is in
direct conflict with the role of Human Resources.”
The Summersons maintain that there is nothing criminal about the
Desert Road Riders and that Americans have the right to join any law
abiding group they want.
