Charity motorcycle ride is broken up by police in Louisburg

LOUISBURG, Kan. (KCTV) - Night Train Run, a charity motorcycle ride, ended in chaos Saturday.

Bikers were turned away from their stop in Louisburg, which caused nearby businesses to lose money and kids to lose out on toy donations.

“It’s been going on quite a while,” said Organizer Michael Bergen. “This ride enables us to take care of 12,000 kids every year.

Bergen uses the rides to collect toys for underprivileged children every year.

“It should have never happened,” Bergen said. “I’ve never had this problem with law enforcement in 51 rides over 26 years.

Bub’s, which is a veterans bar in downtown Louisburg, was slated to host a stop on the ride.

“We went and got our permits,” said Dawn Rally, who own’s Bub’s. “We went to the city council meetings. We adhered to what they said.”

However, when bikers arrived, chaos ensued.

“The whole run dissipated,” Bergen said. “People started scattering. There was no auction. It was a mess.”

Louisburg Police Chief Josh Weber said the details laid out in the planning, such as street closures and motorcycle numbers, were vastly different on the day of the ride.

“We never did shut it down,” Chief Weber said. “The choice was made by the event promoters because of the lack of communication between the city and the promoters.”

While Chief Weber calls it a big miscommunication, Rally thinks it was targeted.

“I think it’s retaliation,” Rally said. “They don’t want a biker bar. They don’t want me here. They want to push me out and what better way.”

On Wednesday night, a meeting was called specifically so there could be a debrief regarding this incident. There, Louisburg showed body camera video to the city council.

“The entire governing body viewed the video and the sentiment in the room is that no one knew where the social media rhetoric was originating from,” said Weber.

At the end of the day, Rally said her bar suffered a big financial loss. Bergan said kids will miss out on receiving toys this Christmas. He wants an apology from the police chief, but also said he will never take the ride back to Louisburg again.

Chief Weber said the ride can come back to town any time.

“I don’t want to cast judgement on anyone as far as why it panned out the way it did, but we would welcome them back,” Chief Weber said.

The city posted the following statement on social media:

The City of Louisburg is 100 percent supportive of bringing tourism and business to our City.
The City Council, City Staff, and, City Administrator all worked hard with Bub’s Bar and Grill to orchestrate the Night Train Run Event to ensure that the event was a success for not only those involved but for the community as a whole.
To assure the safety of all those who participate in any special event that takes place in our community the City works with the event planner to develop adequate security and safety measures to make the event a successful endeavor.
In this particular instance, the plan established protocols for what streets were to be blocked off to provide a safe atmosphere for the Event. Routes were established for ingress and egress to the event area for the participants of the event to keep traffic moving smoothly and safely. This event also was taking place the same day as our high school graduation so the City was anticipating greater traffic for not only the ceremony but also for the traditional graduation parties that take place throughout the City.
The City provided barricades to the local event planners to block off the streets in the event area and assist in traffic control.
The City has no authority to grant permission to block Kansas State Highway 68. That permission must come from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). The planned ingress that was presented to the City did not propose a necessity of blocking traffic on 68 Hwy. Traffic was to enter in waves coordinated with the traffic light at 68 Hwy and Metcalf. However, the entry plan to the event was not coordinated with those attending and traffic was being improperly stopped on state highway 68 in two locations. This was a safety hazard for not only those attending the event but also for the many family and friends of Louisburg graduates who would be traveling the same route throughout the day.
The event plan also designated a semi permanent barrier (snow fencing) to keep the area clearly designated where alcohol consumption could take place on the City street. This protocol was not followed as agreed upon. There were to be two distinct entry points where participants would be provided a wrist band and IDs checked to establish they were 21. This protocol was not followed.
The event plan also designated the parking lot to the south of the Wildcat Activity Center on Peoria Street to be used as parking for the event attendees. The local event planners did not inform the attendees of the Night Train of this protocol. The
Riders were led to believe by the local event planners that parking would be on Broadway in the same contained area that was to be used for the alcohol consumption and auction. This resulted in confusion for the riders as to where they were to park.
Detailed maps were developed by the local event planners and the City showing where the cordoned off area for the event was located and the designated parking areas. These maps were not provided to the Night Run Attendees.
At no time were the Riders in the Night Train Run asked to leave by any City Official, including Chief Weber. The only interaction with any Night Train Rider by the police was to explain to them that 68 highway could not be blocked without permission from KDOT.
Body cameras captured the entirety of the conversation between the Night Train leadership and Chief Weber. All of the conversation was professional and polite. The Night Train leader expressed frustration that he was not told by the local event planner that the Riders could not park on Broadway. It was his decision to leave the area approximately 20 minutes earlier than their scheduled departure. Local event planners had informed the City that the riders would be there for approximately one hour between 4 and 5 p.m. before departing to their next planned stop.
The planning and protocols put into place for any events are there to ensure the safety and success of the occasion. The City will continue to encourage and help with planning of all future special events and will continue to encourage tourism in our community.
City of Louisburg Public Statement

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