Is that the same "Cobb" who posts on this forum?

No. Just two guys with a common but strange fondness for a particular yellow vegetable.

I am one of the individuals on this run. We are starting to go to court as of 3/18/08. They are dragging us through 6 at a time. This is one of those moments in state history where you wonder who is really in charge with your safety.
I was on my bike right behind cobbs when all events went down. That man stood up for his rights and was reacted to violently by the agents involved.

Every one will be glad to know their is still one judge in the world with some commen sence. On 7/7/07 130 BPM MC & Other clubs were riding between Sauk Rapids & St. Jo on a benefit run. As always we posted road guards at intersections to block traffic. (This is done for 2 reasons, our safety & Public Safety. Ever seen what bikers do when people cut into a pack? Bad scene.) The St.Cloud Gang Task Force, Mpls Gang Task Force, St.Paul Gang Task Force and ATFE (Alcohol Tobacco Fire Arms Explosives) were all in attendance for a routine stop sign violation stop. They were hiding in the corn fields even, & it was 100 degrees that day. They surrounded us with the help of 3 local police depts. Machine guns, pistols, tazers etc. Being real hard asses trying to provoke something. We had guns yes & the proper permits to carry. Enter embarassed cops with egg on their faces On 3/18/08 5 of the seventy finally got their day in court. I beleive the judge is sick of Tax Payer Money being spent on frivolous cases as he dissmised all 5 brothers charges. I am Big Bob a member of the BPM Motorcycle Club not GANG and dammed proud of it. I've been in the BPM's for 40 years & most of what the state uses to clasify us as a GANG is B.S. If they used their own rules every golf club, Lions Club, Elks Club, Police Dept. Judicial branch or any segment of society could be classified as a GANG. We are just visible because we have loud pipes on our bikes & wear a patch on our back. When did they burn the constitution anyway? Well friends safe riding & shooting whatever trips your trigger.
Big Bob BPM Forever

I went back & was rereading some of the posts. Steve Cobb was the only person on this ride arrested. He is a retired US Federal Marshall & was a cop in the St.Cloud area when he first got into law enforcement. What he was arrested for was telling the cops (loudly) that they were breaking the law & violating our constitutional rights by doing an illegal search & seisure.
Cobb was talking to a cop in front of him who had a taser leveled at him. What he did not see was 2 cops behind one with a 9mm to his head & another on the right with an assult rifle pointed at his head. 2 other cops came up & threw him on the ground & cuffed him. Steve is retired because he broke his back in the line of duty. So much for protect & serve. (If they don't kill you first with their kindness) I was 2 bikes back & on the right so I had a perfect view of it all. I was sure the big bad tuffys were going to kill Cobb right there in front of God and all us witnesses.
Take care all.
Big Bob

Welcome aboard, Big Bob. Could you share some more details about the court appearances? Who/what/when/where? The names of the judge, the accused -- the charges and disposition? Where they dismissed, or did the prosecutor, under pressure, withdraw them? How about all the other guys who were charged?

Glad to hear there are still judges with common sense left in our legal system.

-Mark

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080319/NEWS01/103180043/1009


Bikers won't go to trial – Mar 19, 2008 – St. Cloud, Minnesota - By David Unze; St. Cloud Times - A Stearns County judge Tuesday found a Blaine man not guilty of charges that he ran a stop sign during a large motorcycle run last summer between Sartell and St. Joseph. Moments after Judge John Scherer found Steven Brenden not guilty of a stop-sign violation, Stearns County dismissed similar charges against 3 other people who were to stand trial Tuesday. At the end of the day, the county had dismissed charges against 5 of the 6 scheduled to stand trial Tuesday with Brenden's being the only case to go to trial.

The county dismissed the charges against the 5 others "without prejudice," which means the county can re-file the charges in the future. No decision has been made yet about whether to dismiss the rest of the cases or to continue prosecuting them, said Mike Lieberg, chief of the criminal division in the Stearns County Attorney's Office.

The lawyer representing as many as 70 bikers stopped during a group ride July 7 has said the stop-sign violation charges were the result of an investigation by state Gang Strike Force officers who were looking for more serious violations but didn't find them. Stephen O'Brien made his point again Tuesday during cross-examination of a local drug and gang task force officer who was the first witness at Brenden's trial.

"This was a pretextual stakeout, wasn't it?" O'Brien asked Sartell Police Officer Dan Miller. "No. We were monitoring their traffic," Miller replied.

Miller, two sheriff's deputies and a St. Joseph police officer testified Tuesday to their roles in the stopping and ticketing of numerous bikers near Stearns County Roads 133 and 4. As many as 19 law enforcement agents, including members of the state Gang Strike Force, area police departments and an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, were involved.

Testimony at Brenden's trial indicated that officers saw the group of bikers run a stop sign at 133 and 4 and that all of the bikers were then stopped and identified, and many were ticketed. While the officers' testimony seemingly implicated all the bikers in running the stop sign, none of the officers could identify Brenden specifically as doing so.

Brenden testified that he did stop at the intersection

That testimony created doubt about whether the officers might have missed seeing one or more of the bikers stop at the intersection, Scherer said in court as he found Brenden not guilty.

Law enforcement officials have said that the group, many of whom claim affiliation with the BPM club, was targeted because it had a history of blocking intersections to allow riders through stop signs and red lights. And a group of bikers, which law enforcement couldn't positively identify as BPMs, had assaulted a motorist a week earlier when that motorist ignored the bikers blocking traffic.

Local drug and gang officers contacted the state Gang Strike Force for help when they learned that the BPMs were sponsoring a run July 7 to St. Martin. Although Brenden said he was told by an officer that day that they were looking for someone with an active felony warrant, Miller denied that the stop was anything other than officers reacting to a group that had violated traffic laws.

There are about 60 other defendants set to stand trial on stop violation charges from the day. Brenden's trial lasted about half a day. Scherer has been assigned all the biker cases, and he has set separate trials for each, with the trials scheduled throughout the rest of the year.

One of the bikers on the ride was found not guilty after a court trial late last year. A Stearns County judge in February dismissed charges of obstructing legal process and running a stop sign against another biker

Some of the bikers cited that day have decided to pay the $125 fine rather than fight the charges.
__________________

OK, a little thread drift and couple issues. Blocking traffic and riding through a red light/stop sign is illegal last I checked. I’m all for a group ride and I’ve probably waved to you on the road but I’m much less enthusiastic when a large group makes decisions for me and impedes my legal transit. You are angry because “the man” stopped you illegally but earlier that day you were stopping others illegally. Hmmmmmm…

If you were blocking me and had a parade permit then my beef would be with the issuing authority. If you didn’t, then I guess my beef would be with your club.

I’m 100% behind your group as far as you guys getting the shaft but maybe not breaking the law to begin with is a good way to avoid the trouble.

[quote="big bob"] Ever seen what bikers do when people cut into a pack? Bad scene.

Maybe this had something to do with the stop.

I gotta agree with this one. I would have been rather irritated. I don't think the LEOs should have hassled you guys for it, or used it as an excuse though. that's a crock and I hope every one of you guys gets your cases dismissed.

So, 19 members of the Gang Strike Force were there because the bikers "impeded traffic"? If I could say that with a straight face, I'd make a fine policeman I guess.

I'm not sure why you quoted me for your comment...I called it a crock. I agree with you. Maybe I'm just reading your comment the wrong way.

Dairy Queen runs are assisted by the MAN all the time to block intersections. We went to the Sartell Police Station to apply for a permit or traffic assistance & were told they couldn't do that. It must be who you know that counts?
Big Bob

It's a matter of public safety. When I ride with PGR we post road guards and once rolling keep rolling. Law enforcement has alway been helpful every where I have been. (MN, IA, SD) IMHO you guys that get pissed off because you have to wait a few minutes for a group of bikes to roll through need to relax, enjoy the roar of the engines, and smell of the gas. It is more dangerous for the pack to be split up and spread out. I will gladly wait for the group. Most folks that ride (in my experience) are freedom loving patriots.