This is the eight page statement of Officer Michael Bucher as it relates
to the shooting at Twin Peaks on 05/17/2015.

On May 17, 2015, at 1030 hours, I reported to the Waco Police Department for a briefing. The briefing
was for a security detail at Twin Peaks due to several different biker groups that were meeting at this
location. Intel suggested that the Bandido and Cossack Biker Gangs were going to both be there. This
was the major concern because they had been involved in prior violence against each other in the past.
Officers that were chosen for this assignment were mostly SWAT officers and we were told to be in a

standard Waco Police Department uniform. This uniform is blue in color with shoulder patches, and a
badge that is worn on my chest. The vehicle that I was driving for this assignment was unit number 52.
It is a black Chevy Tahoe that has a police logo on both sides. That logo says "City of Waco Police" and
below that in smaller print says "Traffic Enforcement Unit." The unit is equipped with emergency lights
and a siren. There is a push bumper on the front of this vehicle along with a spot light. This is my
assigned unit and I use it for daily patrol assignments.
There were eleven SWAT Officers, Commander Mark Norcross and Assistant Chief Ryan Holt at the
briefing. Both Mark Norcross and Ryan Holt are supervisors over SWAT. Officer Davis who was a SWAT
Officer was also working patrol and had Officer Stone with him who was a recruit. The briefing was
given by Sgt Drews, one of our SWAT Tearn Leaders and Officer Jeff Rogers who was our department
gang intelligence officer. Sgt Drews briefed us on logistics such as assigning us as two man units and
what exactly our roles would be. He explained the reason we were there was because the intelligence
the PD had been receiving was bad. We were told to expect that people would be armed and there was
a high probability for violence.

He went on to tell us that we were there to be seen. He wanted

everyone attending the meeting at Twin Peaks to know that police were already there, hoping this
would stop any violence from occurring. We were told to remain visible and to only enforce things that
needed to be enforced in order avoid unnecessary escalation of tension. He was very clear that there
was no need to stir any kind of trouble up for minor infractions. He also reminded us that if we were to
come into contact with these individuals to remain aware of our surroundings because these gangs
commonly attack from the rear while police are dealing with the initial problem.

Due to the high

probability of these individuals being armed he also told us that our rifles should be carried where we
had easy access to them and not in the back of our vehicles as commonly carried. Per my training and
experience we use our rifles when it is likely that we may need to confront armed individuals because
the rifles are more accurate and effective weapon. We were told that we would just rove around the
area and not be stationed at one point. He told us to use our judgment on where to be just to make
sure we were spread out and visible to the individuals coming to Twin Peaks. Our assignments were as
follows:
Bucher I Jackson Fischer I Rush
Davis I Stone

Car 52
Car72
CarGO

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TWIN PEAKS 630340

 Pina I Fuller
Car 61
O'Neal
Car 74
Zbroil I George -SWAT Team leaders in unmarked silver Trailblazer
Drews
SWAT Team leader in unmarked black Tahoe
After Sgt Drews gave his briefing, Officer Rogers gave us an intet briefing. He explained to us that the
Bandidos and Cossacks were both meeting at this location with several other small gangs. He said from
what he had gathered this was a recruitment meeting. He stressed the point that a lot of people had
told him this meeting was not going to go well and several of his informants told him that the likelihood
of violence was high. He had also received the same word from other police departments that had been
given the same intelligence. He also explained there would be some cars and trucks that would be
following the gangs as they arrived on motorcycles. He said these vehicles would possibly be carrying
weapons and performing surveillance on Twin Peaks as welt. In particular, he showed us a picture of a
white Toyota Tundra that was a possible vehicle that would be carrying several different firearms and
ammunition. Officer Rogers told us that four DPS Officers would be on scene as welt. He said the DPS
officers were going to go inside Twin Peaks and eat white observing the different gangs while they were
having their meeting. He said he would have contact from these officers by phone and that they were
not going to take any enforcement action while inside. He said these officers would be going inside the
restaurant just before 1300 because that was the time the meeting was scheduled to begin. Officer
Rogers stated he would also be on scene in an unmarked vehicle and relay any information he was given
to us. The radios that we were operating on were on channel D because it is not picked up by scanners
and that was a concern due to some of the motorcycle gangs doing counter surveillance on police. 1
gave my radio to Detective Rogers because he did not have that channel. I carried a patrol radio that
was not equipped with that channel. Officer Jackson, who I was riding with, was clear that I would be on
channel A should we become separated during this assignment.

Prior to the more detailed briefing, we were given a very short brief on this assignment during our
monthly SWAT Training We were told to expect being present at Twin Peaks during this planned
meeting. On May i'", during our training day, Officer Rogers gave us a detailed briefing on the Bandidos
and Cossacks. He went over some of the history of these gangs and went on to tell us why they had
trouble with each other. He explained some of the trouble was because the Cossacks were not paying
dues to the Bandidos and that they were wearing a Texas patch on their motorcycle vest. He also had
told us about an incident where one of the gang's members had been stabbed by the other gang.
Officer Rogers told me afterwards he was very nervous about this meeting and had been getting several
different informants telling him violence was likely.
After the briefing on May 17th, Officer Jackson and I paired up in my patrol vehicle. We both moved our
patrol rifles to the front area of my patrol vehicle. We put these rifles next to our seats, next to the
center consoles. Our rifles are department issued Bushmaster .223 caliber. They are both equipped
with Elcan sighting systems and both of our rifles are suppressed.
After getting our equipment together we went to eat a quick lunch and made it to Twin Peaks around
noon. We saw there were already several vehicles and motorcycles in the parking lot. There was a
white Toyota Tundra sitting in the back parking lot of Twin Peaks. We both thought this could have
possibly been the white Tundra trail vehicle we had been told about. We decided to drive through the

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 back portion of the parking lot to check and see if this was the Tundra in question. We also thought this
would be a good opportunity as well to show that the police were present. There were probably close

to 75-100 people in this back parking lot. The majority of these people appeared to be Bandidos
identifiable by the patches and colors they were wearing. Some of them were stretching and appeared
to be trying to loosen up. Sgt Drews also said this over the radio when he saw it. He stated, "that it
appeared they were ready to do something." I also noticed that everyone I saw was in possession of a
fixed blade knife that was attached to their belt. After we drove through the back parking lot we exited
the same way we came in. We crossed the street that runs behind Twin Peaks and moved into the mall
parking lot. There were still several bikes and trucks pulling in. The back parking lot was now full and
trucks were starting to park where we were sitting. There were mostly Bandidos getting out of these
trucks. Most of our SWAT unit was on scene and sitting throughout the parking areas behind Twin
Peaks just off the main road that runs behind Twin Peaks. This was well within sight of everyone who
was heading to Twin Peaks. People who were getting out of the trucks were taking off shirts and mainly
putting on red and black t-shirts with black vests over the shirts that said Bandidos on them. I also
thought that it was odd that none of the bikes had females riding on them with the men. I have seen
these gangs meet before at locations and most of the time there are women riding on the bikes.
We began to drive away from where we were sitting and decided to move to a position so we could see
where all these people were gathering up. As we began to move we heard Officers Rogers say over the
radio "there seems to be some tension over a parking spot." I had no clue where Officer Rogers was
sitting but Officer Jackson and I decided to move around to the front of Don Carlos, a family restaurant,
to see what the front and patio area of Twin Peaks looked like. As we moved in front of Don Carlos
moving towards Twin Peaks we could see that a large group had formed on the side of Twin Peaks
closest to IH-35 and Don Carlos. We had designated this as the "D" side ofthe building. The front of
Twin Peaks where the front doors were doors was called the "A" side. The entire parking Jot on the A
and D side were full of motorcycles. The group that had formed on the D side was standing on the
center of that side. The center of that group was under a banner that was hanging over the patio of
Twin Peaks. There were at least 200 people that were standing in this group. I went ahead and parked
in the Don Carlos parking lot center of the front side of the building, closest to the access road. I angled
my vehicle across some of the parking spots so that the entire crowd could be seen by both Jackson and
I while looking out of the windshield. The group seemed to be focused on something in the center of
the group. They were all looking inward just like a football team listening to a coach.
Almost as soon as I had parked I saw a Cossack gang member that pushed a Bandido. This was in the
part of the crowd towards the left side of the banner that was still hanging over the center of the group
of people. I asked Jackson if he had seen that and he said no way that there were too many people in
the parking lot. That is when we both agreed to use the banner as a reference point and I told him the
left side of the banner and almost center of the crowd. We began to talk about if there started to be a
fight that we would deploy gas canisters in the crowd due to the number of people in that crowd.
Knowing that there were at least 200 people in the group and only 12 of us on site, I also said I would
call on duty patrol. Just as we began formulating this plan the right side of the crowd erupted in a fight.
Several different people began to push each other and then you could tell a fist fight had begun. This is

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 when I began to open my door and go for my gas bag. I also saw Jackson begin to grab the mic for his
radio to tell the other Officers towards the back that a fight had begun on the D side.
As soon as I began to open my door and step out is when I heard the first gun shot. As my feet hit the
ground I began to reach back inside for my rifle while looking over the steering wheel. As I did look over
the steering wheel I saw a very large, bald headed, white male firing a handgun into the crowd.

The

handgun appeared to be a Colt 45 type pistol.
Due to the high threat that we had received during our briefing, I had already made my patrol rifle hot,
meaning I placed a round in the chamber. I am not sure how many rounds were inside the magazine
before loading my rifle for this assignment. I normally carry 28 rounds in each magazine that 1 have
throughout all my gear. The magazine that is in my rifle is the same magazine I use on a daily basis.
Anytime I charge the weapon, loading a round in the chamber, I will remove that round from the
magazine after I clear the rifle. I do this because the primer is struck slightly every-time you charge the
weapon. I will normally wait until I have three or four rounds out of the magazine until I unload the
magazine fully and place all the rounds that have been struck on the bottom of the magazine. After
loading those rounds, I will load all the rounds that have not been struck back on top. This was also the
advice that we were given about three years ago by Officer Jimmy McCall who is also the range-master
at the Waco Police Dept.
The door to the driver's side of my vehicle was now open and I stayed behind that door. I was in a
standing position and brought my rifle up to a low ready position. While doing this I got on channel A
and began to tell dispatch that shots were being fired at Twin Peaks. I had the barrel of the rifle
between the driver door and the A pillar of my vehicle. The rifle was also sticking out pointed towards
the crowd directly next to the spotlight. I heard Jackson yell out white male under the banner. As I
heard him say this, I knew he was referring to the white male that was firing the pistol at people in the
crowd. I began to take aim through my scope, center mass of this subject. He was still firing the pistol
and was firing in a direction towards Loop 340 with several people in his path. I never did look to see
exactly what he was firing at but his fire was directed toward where I had seen the group of people and
there were now several different guns that were being discharged in the group. I do remember taking
my rifle off of fire and taking a deep breath but I do not remember if I fired center mass of this subject.
The subject began to fall or lay as if he were going to get on the ground. As he did, I followed the
subject to the ground while he was still in my scope. As he was going to the ground, he fired the pistol
in his hand. There were already other subjects on the ground that were also firing .. I thought the man
was still very much alive since he had fired the pistol as he was going to the ground so I fired one more
aimed shot at the top of his head in order to eliminate the threat and prevent him from continuing to
fire his weapon.
There were at least two males that were either on the sidewalk or very close to it, behind the man I had
just shot. These two males were firing pistols as well. I saw one of these males firing a pistol into the
crowd and as soon as I took aim on him, he fell to the ground. This male was to my left and behind the
subject that I previously shot..
sidewalk.

I yelled to Jackson they were still firing under the banner near the

I then took aim at the subject that was behind and to the right of the subject I had previously
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 shot. He was firing a pistol at a male in the parking lot that was in my direction, I feared for my safety
and the male that he was firing at. He was trying to use the back wheel of a motorcycle, and the male I
had shot for cover. I don't remember how many rounds I fired at this subject but I do know that he did
stop firing the pistol and I believed the threat was eliminated. I am not sure where or if I had struck this
subject.
During all of this, there were several rounds being fired by multiple subjects in the parking lot. There
were subjects that were running for cover as well. The subjects that were not running for cover were all
engaged in some type of deadly harm to each other. It appeared as people were stabbing at each other
while running, shooting at others that were on the ground, or fist fighting. As the subjects under the
banner stopped shooting I went to a low ready position. It was just low enough that I could look over
my scope. There were several subjects firing and walking through the parking lot but I was not fast
enough to engage some of these targets before losing sight of them behind objects. There was one
male that walked up to a man that was on the ground and shot at him point blank. I lost him just as he
walked behind a big reddish looking truck that was parked in Don Carlos. I could hear rounds still being
fired but could not see the shooters.
While in the low ready I saw a subject chasing a male with a chain. On the end of this chain was
something that was bigger than the chain. It appeared to be a very big chain and the subject that was
swinging it was a very big person. The male that he was chasing was back pedaling very fast and
appeared to be trying to get away while dodging the chain. It was very evident he was trying to get
away. This subject that was being chased appeared to be much smaller. This is when I lifted my rifle
and took aim of the subject with this chain as I believed he would seriously injure or kill the man he was
swinging at. He was still.·on the move and I fired one round in fear for the man that was being chased
safety. I saw the man with the chain fall to the ground. I could also tell that the subject appeared to
have been hit by my round because of how the path of him running changed and him falling down.
After seeing him fall he had stopped swinging the chain.
During the time I fired at this man with the chain I began to hear rounds cracking and whizzing over me
and next to me. From my experience in Iraq I did believe I was being shot at and that someone was
deliberately taking aim at myself and Officer Jackson. I went back to low ready and focused on the area
around the center of the banner where I believe the rounds were coming from. This is when I believed I
fired at another male subject firing a pistol into the area where the crowd was fighting. I could not tell
exactly what he was firing at but he was in the same area as the other subjects that had been shooting
and I had fired at already. I took aim at him and I believe I fired and that he fell backwards and stopped
firing the pistol and therefore the threat was eliminated. I could still hear shots being fired and went
back to a low ready so my field of vision would be larger. As I did, I saw the male to my left that had
been swinging the chain back up on one knee swinging this chain again. He was swinging it at what
appeared to be the same subject he was previously attacking. Two other people were now standing
near the two of them. All four of these people were to the very left edge of the parking lot on the D
side, near the pole for the Twin Peaks sign. I estimate the distance from me to them was around 40
yards. I lifted my rifle back up and began to focus my scope on the subject swinging the chain again.
Once I got a got sight picture I fired at this male subject one more time. I realized at this point he had

TWIN PEAKS 630344

 begun to move away from the other males. As soon as I fired this round the other males that were near
him ran away. I thought I had missed this subject again because at first there was no reaction from him.
I then saw him begin to limp and fall on the ground directly near the pole that holds the Twin Peaks sign.
As I saw that man fall on the ground I saw another male on the patio firing a gun as he was running. 1do
not know where he ran to but he was running away from the crowd and firing at the same time. He was
firing back into the direction of the crowd. I could see this through my scope and as I did I fired my
weapon. This was a very fast shot and I fired this round because I could see this male running and
shooting through my scope. I was not on target and when I fired this round and l believe it struck the
pole of the Twin Peaks sign. I believe I struck this pole because it was very loud when I hit it. It made a
very loud echo sound up the pole.
After firing this round I do not believe I fired at anyone else. I did begin to take aim on a subject who
appeared from the patio area and fired in my direction but before I fired he fell to the ground.

I

believed he had been shot by Officer Jackson at the time. After seeing this male fall to the ground 1
could still hear sporadic fire. I could not see any particular person shooting but I would hear one shot
and then shortly after one more shot. I went to the low ready and as I did I saw several members of the
Bandidos walking on the access road towards me. They were already looking at me and did not appear
to be scared as some of the others who were hiding did. I challenged these subjects and had them stop
and put their hands in the air. They did just as I said and were about 25 yards out from me. 1watched

them, behind our vehicle, and a portion of the parking lot near the Twin Peaks sign to make sure no one
else was approaching us. During this time I advised officers responding to the scene not to go to Twin
Peaks because of the sporadic fire. I also saw a male crawling with a gun in his hand towards the back of
the building from the D side. Officer Jackson also saw this because he yelled it out to me form his side of
our vehicle.
While watching the males on the access road from behind cover of my vehicle, a DPS Trooper pulled up
on the access road just behind my car. As two of them got out they asked what I needed. I told them to
watch the subjects that were on the access road. They said ok and I moved to Jackson's side of the car.
When we were together behind our patrol vehicle Jackson saw the Bandidos on the access road
standing up. He began to move towards them to cover them and I told him DPS had them covered. 1
believe they were standing up because of commands from the Troopers. We both went back to the
passenger side of the car so we could cover the crowd. It had seemed as if the shooting was stopping. 1
remember Jackson and I checking to make sure neither one of us were shot We moved forward to roll
the passenger side window down because the door was still open. We then moved back and covered
the crowd. We had made the decision not to move any closer until more help arrived and because of
the sporadic fire. There were also weapons lying throughout the parking lot that were easy for the gang
members to access.
As help arrived I could see officers taking guns off of several subjects that had been hiding behind
vehicles within 25 yards of us. These were subjects that took cover behind vehicles in the parking lot of
Don Carlos. There were people that had been in the crowd at Twin Peaks performing first aid on
subjects that were wounded. Some of them began to yell to us for help. l remember telling a group to

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 carry the wounded to me. They picked up a male that was lying on the ground who appeared to be
large. As they put him in front of my vehicle I told them to all lie on the ground so they could be
checked. There were 2 or 3 under cover OPS Troopers that moved up after the shooting stopped and I
told them to search all of these subjects. He pulled out magazines loaded with bullets, large knives and
brass knuckles off of these subjects. I was concerned not only with my safety but the safety of the EMS
personnel that would be transporting these subjects. I was also concerned with letting people carry the
wounded off and then being behind us with weapons. About 6 people had carried the wounded man to
my car. While the Trooper searched them I covered him and Jackson told me he was covering long. This
meant he was covering the crowd at Twin Peaks. After these men were searched I told three of them to
carry the wounded man to Office Depot where I had told dispatch to have them stage.

A pick up that

was being driven by an undercover Trooper pulled up as they were carrying him off and they load him
into the back of the truck.
I could see people coming out of the front of Twin Peaks. I remember them standing in a group for a
while but then some of them were coming back to the 0 side. It looked like some of them were just
walking around. Some of them appeared to be picking stuff up. This is when I got on the PA system of
my car and told everyone that if they were in the crowd to keep their hands in the air because they were
considered armed and dangerous. 1 felt that even the people that were walking around could be
dangerous not only because they could have been armed but because there were weapons I could see
lying all over the ground. Most of them did pick their hands up when I told them that but they were still
walking around. I could tell other officers were moving up because some of them were telling the
subjects to get on the ground as they were coming into my sight. I saw AC Holt, Officer Davis, and
Officer Rush all addressing subjects and taking weapons from them.
It soon became a matter of crowd control and getting the wounded to an ambulance. We would search
subjects as they came to us and then move people out onto the access road that had been shut down. I
did not search many of the subjects. I just kept cover on them as they were being searched by other
officers. Officer Jackson and I relieved each other so that each other could put on extra armor. We
were starting to be told that several busloads of subjects related to the groups at Twin Peaks and
motorcycles were headed our way. Some of the intel said these subjects were heavily armed. There
were also reports of them taking off their group colors and taking clothes for local businesses. AC Holt
explained to us that he needed me along with Officer Jackson to stay on scene because of the threats
being made to officers and rival groups that were still on scene. It was my understanding the entire
time I was on scene at Twin Peaks that all of the people that had been detained were witnesses. Even
after they were being loaded and taken to the Convention Center, they were still just being detained as
witnesses until detectives could figure out the key people. While on scene and providing over watch
Officer O'Neal did approach me and said he had fired at a subject he thought was firing in our direction.
I told him ok and Officer Fischer told me he had contacted CLEAT for us. I stayed on scene as over watch
until about 1700 hours when I was taken to the police department by SGT Holt.
During this incident I only fired my weapon at subjects I could tell were armed and that were actively
engaged in a manner that could have caused serious bodily injury to someone else or to myself. I felt
that if I had not fired at them, someone was in danger of being hurt badly. The people I believed could

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 have been hurt were others in the crowd, innocent bystanders, or even motorists that were traveling by
Twin Peaks on very heavily traveled roads. The two roads that were heavily traveled and close were IH35 and Loop 340. I believe IH-35 is no further than 150 yards from Twin Peaks and Loop 340 is separated
from Twin Peaks by a grassy median. Just after the incident was somewhat contained I saw a family had
taken cover behind their car in the parking lot of Don Carlos. They were no further than 50 yards form
this entire incident. I also saw women and children being escorted out of Don Carlos shortly afteiWards.
Just behind Twin Peaks was also Central Texas MaiL This area is full of outdoor stores where people
were as this incident began.
Just before leaving the scene I went to my car to get my phone out since my vehicle was not allowed to
leave. When I opened my car I found that the front passenger floorboard, back passenger floorboard
and cargo area was full of guns, knives, brass knuckles and magazines from the subjects at what was
supposed to be a peaceful meeting. These were collected from officers that were searching individuals
before moving them to a holding area. Officers were putting them in my vehicle to keep them secure.
After leaving the scene I realized that I was exhausted mentally. l realized that this was because of me
being scared for my safety; my partner's safety and the safety of the families l realized were at Don
Carlos. I also had found out later that part of my family had been at the Central Texas Mall when this
occurred. I began to think about the situation further and without a doubt I feel that this situation
would not have ended if police were not there. I feel this would have been a running gun battle and
these subjects would have got to the cars that were stocked with more guns and ammo. Luckily the way
other officers responded kept these subjects from getting to their vehicles. Even people who were
running and hiding for cover were armed. I believe some of them were not engaging because they had
the benefit of seeing officers responding to the situation and knew how dose we were to them.

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Monday, June 01,2015 11:13:12AM