Posted on 10/23/2018 7:08:49 PM PDT by Elderberry
W.H. "Pete" Peterson had just left church on May 17, 2015, and was on his way to his granddaughter's high school baccalaureate ceremony when he got the call of mass casualties during a biker brawl that shattered the otherwise calm of the Sunday afternoon.
Like many others that day, Peterson, a Vietnam veteran and a 38-year law enforcement officer, was not prepared for what he saw at the Twin Peaks crime scene after rival biker groups and police officers were involved in the deadly shootout that left nine dead and 20 injured.
As McLennan County Justice of the Peace for Precinct 1, Place 2, Peterson was on call that day and conducted inquests on the bodies of the nine killed.
"I had not seen such carnage since my days in Vietnam," Peterson said. "I just did the best that I could with the information that I had."
But it was what happened later that evening that is serving now as grist for Peterson's political opponent, Libertarian candidate Lauren Daugherty.
Peterson, 66, signed off on identical arrest warrants for 177 of the bikers arrested that night and set bonds for each at $1 million. Bikers remained jailed for weeks, some for months, until their attorneys could negotiate reduced bonds with the McLennan County District Attorney's Office.
Of the 155 bikers who were indicted, all but 27 cases have been dismissed. More than 130 bikers have filed federal civil rights lawsuits over their arrests, which remain pending in Austin.
Daugherty, 35, director of the Libertarian Party of Texas and development director for the National Libertarian Party, has made Peterson's role in setting the $1 million bonds the cornerstone of her campaign.
"The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution says we as Americans should be free of excessive bail," Daugherty said.
(Excerpt) Read more at wacotrib.com ...
Abbott has actually passed a big chunk of the bill to all the taxpayers of Texas.
bump,,,marked,,, thanks
Thanks for this post.
What was?
Overreach? Not even close when you consider the body count from their last massacre was 75.
What last massacre?
Branch-Davidian compound massacre. That was also in Waco.
Well, yeah, but they didn’t incarcerate themselves on million dollar bonds. So the bonds were definitely over-reach.
That’s what happens when you have a drama queen with a weak stomach for a JP.
Thanks for update, poor Newspaper even in on the Money making in Waco lol
6 more years on the “Modified, Limited Hangout.” Then a couple low level flunkies will get a wrist tap.
https://www.kwtx.com/content/news/Polls-open-voting-begins-499729471.html
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.