On Saturday, May 31st 1980 over 1,000 hardened Motorcycle operators descended on Bristol CT in protest of a court decision that involved a motor-vehicle accident that had killed one of their comrades. This "longest day" in most of our young careers came to be known as;

"The Day of The Riot"

We, the entire police department, were ordered onto duty on Thurs. and would not go home for 4 days. We all ate, slept, dressed, and prayed together in our surrounded bastion. We rotated turns (8 at a time) standing in front of BPD HQ as seen on the left. This was for "show" only, as these 8 men stared into the faces of 1,000 angry people. Some cursed us, some spit, some threw bottles. Aside from the fact that we were outnumber by a clear 100 to 1 margin, aggressive action was imprudent. It would have clearly resulted in property damage and major injury to the many innocent on-lookers and children that had filtered into the endless crowd to watch the spectacle. At one point a biker roared past our ranks with a WWII vintage .50 caliber, water cooled machine gun strapped to his back. At this point, a 5 man contingent lead by retired Capt. Dave McGivney Jr wedged through the crowd and took the gun which turned out to be a non-firing replica.

This photo was taken in the middle of the road in front of 131 North Main Street.. Bristol Police HQ. Bikers were shoulder to shoulder 15 abreast, lined up for mile upon endless mile. The State police reported a M/C traffic jam as far away as Interstate I-#84 back in Southington, 20 miles away.. All heading to Bristol Police HQ!

The Center Mall can be seen in the background of this photo taken as the scene got ugly. Bikes and cars used the road in front of HQ as a "drag strip", smoking tires, doing wheelies, and side-by- side races. At one point, a car stalled in the middle of the street. The drunken rabble overturned the car and set it afire as we watched. The fire dept. responded and an attempt was made to stop the racing. Every 2nd officer was issued a 12 ga. shotgun and we formed a "back-to-back" line. We pushed our way out onto North Main Street (in front of HQ), attempting to block the street. The crowd became incensed and totally surrounded us within seconds. Screaming and yelling, they surged up close, face to face.. At this point the police had only 2 choices, and only 1 minute to choose one. Either we level shotguns and start blasting people at point-blank range, or we retreat. Retired Capt. Stanley "Buzz" Barton made the call which in retrospect was the correct one; "..let's get outta' the road!"

By nightfall, the riotous gangs' numbers slowly dwindled to a a few hundred intoxicated hoodlums. It started to rain, which sent most of the innocent onlookers packing and further evened the odds for the first time in 3 days. Around midnight a beer bottle was lofted from the Center Mall Parking lot and smashed at the feet of a Bristol Patrol officer "standing line". He'd seen who threw the bottle, and headed across the street.. Enough was enough! We all followed him, and our station emptied out like the dugout of a major league baseball team. Riot batons at port arms, flak vests cinched, battle helmets buttoned with visors lowered, we waded into them! Within 2 hours we regained control of the area surrounding HQ. By sunup the entire city was ours again. We rode 4 officers in a cruiser that night, and were each issued a pizza pie for the road. Car stops, and law enforcement can appear most imposing when you are approached by 4 seething cops in full battle dress who'd been "on line" for the past 60 hours. Most of our customers that night were very cooperative as I recall.

As a result of the Bristol Police actions that day we all received a departmental citation that reads as follows:

"The Bristol Police Dept did maintain the peace and security of our City in the face of a large-scale motorcycle rally on May 31, 1980. The city council of the city of Bristol is proud of the exceptional performance of the members of the Bristol Police Department in carrying out their duties in conjunction with said rally.

Now therefore be it resolved; That the City Council of the City of Bristol acting as the elected representatives of the citizens of Bristol, does hereby award a Special Department Commendation to Chief John Oliver and the Bristol Police Department on the 3rd day of June 1980, and that this commendation be made a permanent record in the file of each member of the Bristol Police Department who took part in the activities of May 31st, 1980.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Official Seal of the City of Bristol to be affixed this 3rd day of June 1980."

Signed: Michael L. Werner.. Mayor