Texas biker suing Waco after being arrested, held in shootout

Matt Clendennen is grateful to be out of jail, but struggling to hold his life together.

He was one of 177 people arrested after last month’s biker brawl in Waco, Texas, which left nine people dead. All the suspects face charges of engaging in organized crime, with bonds set at $1 million each.

Clendennen was able to bond out Tuesday, but almost all the other bikers remain behind bars in what he calls a gross overreaction by police.

“I committed no crime. I did nothing wrong,” the 30-year-old told CNN’s Ed Lavandera. “I just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

So he’s taking officials to court.

In a civil lawsuit filed last week, Clendennen names the city of Waco, McLennan County and individual officers involved.

His suit claims he was at the Twin Peaks restaurant on May 17, but “did not engage in any criminal activity while at Twin Peaks on that day nor did he travel to Twin Peaks on that day with the intent to engage in any criminal activity nor did he anticipate that any criminal activity would take place.”

Clendennen, a member of the Scimitars Motorcycle Club, said his detention has had serious consequences on his life.

As the owner of a landscaping business, he said he’s lost income while behind bars. He and his wife share two children, and he also supports two other children from a previous marriage.

“I’m one of the first to get out. There are still well over 150 there. How long will they be there? How many can’t post these outrageous bonds and provide for their families? I had to post $100,000 bond to get out,” he said.

“It’s outrageous. Families are struggling.”

Waco police spokesman Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton declined to comment on the specifics of Clendennen’s suit.

Swanton has said a coalition of motorcycle groups had reserved the outdoor bar area at Twin Peaks when “an additional biker gang, who was not invited to this meeting, showed up.”

Swanton has described the bikers at Twin Peaks as “vicious criminals.”

“They were not here to drink beer and eat BBQ,” he said. “They came with violence in mind, and they were ready for it.”

But William English said it’s ludicrous to think he and his wife went to Twin Peaks expecting trouble.

“Do you think I would want to take my wife to some place I know there was going to be shooting?” he asked. “Do you think I would want to be in a place where there was a shooting? I was in combat. I don’t want to be shot at anymore.”