This article was written by Intern Reporter Alexis Castro Juarez. Lea este articulo en español aquí.
On Nov. 20, the Hollister City Council continued discussions on having the city host a biker rally in July 2024. The city has not hosted a rally since 2017 because of public safety liability concerns and COVID-19.
As he has said before, Hollister Police Chief Carlos Reynoso told the council there hasn’t been a rally because of a shortage of police staffing. He said the Hollister Police Department has been unable to get additional resources from other law enforcement agencies as they are also short on staff.
Reynoso said he reached out to other police departments that have helped in previous rallies including Merced, Monterey, Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Marina, Seaside, Soledad and Kingsbury.
A few departments could send one or two officers, he said.
Reynoso said he is in communication with a county sheriff who is helping him look for staff from various sheriff’s departments around the state.
In addition, Reynoso said the city is creating flyers that will be shared throughout the state seeking participation from law enforcement for the rally.
In March, Reynoso told BenitoLink that though police do not disclose numbers from their security plan, city code would require over 200 officers for the rally, which is estimated to attract over 10,000 people.
“Just know that we have never been able to get enough personnel to have the event in the past to be in compliance with our own city code,” Reynoso said. “During my time managing the events, we have never had close to three-digit numbers [of officers].”
Hollister City Manager David Mirrione said Roadshow Inc, the rally’s promoter, has a contract with the city through 2024.
Councilmember Rolan Resendiz said that the California Department Corrections and Rehabilitation has helped HPD with previous rallies. Reynoso said the San Benito County Probation Department has also helped.
Seeking data on how many officers were in service at previous rallies, HPD Public Information Officer Sgt. Bo Leland referred BenitoLink to former rally supervisor Cpt. Eric Olson, who is on vacation.
Resendiz noted that the rally is a longstanding tradition in Hollister.
“This is who we are as a community,” he said. “Constituents are asking for it and it’s been put on the ballot, yet we can’t get support of the council to direct staff to do the event.”
Councilmember Rick Perez and Mayor Mia Casey concurred that if there’s not some type of solution to keep the public safe they would vote against holding the rally, but if proven otherwise they would be willing to support it.
The rally dates back to the 1930s when hundreds of motorcycle enthusiasts gathered in the area for camaraderie, but its “biker” mystique began after the so-called invasion of Hollister by World War II veterans riding around U.S. on used military motorcycles as part of the Gypsy Tour Races which inspired the 1947 movie “The Wild One” with Marlon Brando. Since then, sanctioned and unsanctioned rallies have been held depending on the mood and finances of the city.
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