Although the Eastern Pennsylvania Confederation of Clubs has met at the VFW Post in Darby for two years without incident or any problems with the neighbors or the police, and no breach of the peace has occurred during that time, beginning with their June COC meeting the local police began a pattern of harassment by taking down the license tag numbers of all the bikes in the parking lot.

Then at the August 22, 2002 meeting, Darby police gave parking tickets for every conceivable violation while the meeting was in progress, including some parked on private property with the permission of the owner. After the meeting, they, with the help of law enforcement officers from about four other local townships and some federal agents, stopped every biker who left the meeting as soon as they started to ride away, held some for extended periods of time, and interrogated them as they were extensively photographed and unlawfully searched.

According to reports, the apparent architect of the police action was the Chief of Police of Darby Borough, Robert F. Smythe, who stated outside of the VFW that he did not want "bikers" in his town, and would enforce the rules so that they would no longer meet in Darby Borough.

Many of the bikers were told by officers that certain club's members were not to return to Darby. This is a clear violation of First Amendment rights to assemble and of association. Two bikes were impounded for high handlebars and one pickup truck was held for a day for lack of proof of insurance.

Aid to Injured Motorcyclists (A.I.M.) Attorney Boyd Spencer has filed a Civil Rights Complaint in the U.S. Eastern District Court for the District of Pennsylvania, requesting declaratory and injunctive relief to prevent further actions by the defendants (Police Chief Smythe, the Darby Borough PD, and 25 other officers), and for monetary damages for their actions.

The suit (02-CV-7707), which will be heard by the Honorable Judge Marvin Katz, alleges unconstitutional actions by the law enforcement officers, and further describes violations of the bikers rights protected under the First, Fourth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

"It has become evident that Defendants, and particularly Defendant, Robert F. Smythe, have developed and continued to engage in a pattern and practice of harassment, profiling, and selective enforcement intended to interfere with Plaintiff's constitutionally protected rights to freedom of association, freedom of assembly, freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, due process of law, and equal protection under the law," states the lawsuit.

Stay tuned for further developments.