An estimated 1,500 people from across Canada attended a celebration of life in Surrey for longtime Hells Angels member Rick Ciarniello, who died in March.
"He was one of the original Hells Angels members who patched over in the early 1980s from a biker club called the Satan’s Angels,” Staff Sgt. Lindsay Houghton, of the Surrey Police Service, said Thursday (June 12) outside the banquet hall where the celebration was taking place.
Before the service started, about 1,000 motorcycles travelled from a Hells Angels club in Coquitlam along Highway 1 to the Highway 15 exit in Surrey, then along Highway 17 to Bridgeview Drive, from Bridgeview Drive to King George Boulevard, and King George Boulevard to 120 Street. Police could be seen at major intersections along the route to ensure the safety of drivers and pedestrians.
The procession ended at the Aria Banquet Hall, located in the 12300-block of Pattullo Place in Surrey, around noon.
Not everyone who attended the service was a member of an outlaw motorcycle gang, though.
“You’ll have friends of family, family come to this,” Houghton said. But police know “how to distinguish the difference between attendees.”
Hells Angels and affiliated club members were dressed in their colours, which Houghton said is common as there are a lot of rules involved in being a member of the Hells Angels. “When they’re on their bikes, they have to wear their colours. They have to wear something that signifies what outlaw motorcycle gang they’re a part of. They have a lot of rules around what they can and can’t wear.”
Police said they had known about the service and motorcycle procession for a few weeks.
The service also drew a large police presence outside of the banquet hall Thursday afternoon, with many officers from multiple jurisdictions across the Lower Mainland.
“These events are very valuable for police in terms of intelligence gathering,” Houghton said. “These events are important to police, not just in terms of seeing who’s attending, but it’s really important for us to see who’s associating with each other. Affiliations in the outlaw motorcycle gang world are really important for police to see who’s being supported by who.”
It also helps the police see who has been elevated from “one-piece patch” to two and a “two-piece patch” to three. “In order for them to do that, they need the permission and support of the Hells Angels.”
“We’ve seen time and time again, whether it’s full chapters of full-patch Hells Angels, members working together, whether that’s, over the years to grow marijuana or import cocaine or grander conspiracies to commit murder. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, in the mind of police in British Columbia, this is an organized crime group,” Houghton said.
Members from the Hells Angels and other outlaw motorcycle gang support clubs are expected to be in the Surrey area until Sunday, according to police.
Houghton said he understands that members of the public might feel anxious when they see a group of bikers, but added that there will be additional officers working through the weekend to ensure everyone stays safe. Special attention will be paid to restaurants and bars throughout the city to prevent any gang-related incidents.
“You should probably expect, if there’s groups of bikers, there’s a pretty good chance that police will be somewhere nearby.”
The name “outlaw motorcycle gang” is one they have given themselves, Houghton said.
The Hells Angels motorcycle gang was founded in 1948 in California and established a presence in British Columbia in July 1983.
"One of the founders of the Hells Angels, there’s a famous quote I’m paraphrasing, that they call themselves the one per cent outside of the regular law-abiding motorcycle riders and enthusiasts,” Houghton said.
-With files from Tricia Leslie
