Grand jury clears officers in deadly Twin Peaks shootout

The McLennan County Grand Jury Wednesday cleared three Waco police officers who were involved in the deadly May 2015 shootout at Waco’s Twin Peaks restaurant.

The decision came after interim Waco police Chief Frank Gentsch, assistant police Chief Robert Lanning and two unidentified Texas Rangers spent the morning testifying before grand jurors.

Officer Andy O’Neal, a 15-year police veteran, and Officer Michael Bucher, an 11-year veteran and Officer Heath Jackson, a 9-year veteran were also cleared in an internal investigation, Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said in a press release Wednesday.

“These officers acted professional under very difficult circumstances,” Gentsch said in the press release.

I’m glad to have this caliber of officers protecting our city,” he said

“I will be returning these officers to full duty immediately,”

McLennan County District Attorney Abel Reyna said in a statement that he’s pleased the officers will resume their duties.

“The grand jury gave vigilant and thorough consideration of all the evidence in this investigation.”

“These officers acted in accordance with their training and the laws of the State of Texas,” he said.

The May 17, 2015 shootout left nine bikers dead and 20 more injured.

Ballistics reports obtained earlier show four of the bikers were killed by shots from .223-caliber rifles, the only type of weapon fired by police during the melee.

Two had wounds from only that kind of rifle; the other two were also struck by shots fired from other guns.

The five other bikers who were killed only had wounds from other guns.

Fourteen Waco police officers including an assistant chief and several sergeants and four Department of Public Safety troopers were positioned around the restaurant in anticipation of problems stemming from a meeting of a coalition of several biker groups.

They responded with a matter of about 30 seconds when the violence erupted inside the restaurant and spilled into the parking lot.

Recordings of police radio traffic in the first frantic moments after violence erupted show how quickly officers responded and how quickly the scene was secured.

“Shots fired, subject down,” one officer told a dispatcher.

“This place is hot,” another reported, as the gunfire continued.

Officers secured the scene relatively quickly after the gun battle ended.

Police arrested the 177 bikers after the melee, all of whom were charged with engaging in organized crime and all of whom were initially ordered held in lieu of $1 million bonds.

In March, a McLennan County grand jury handed up indictments in the cases of some of the 80 bikers who were charged, but not yet indicted in the deadly May shootout at Waco’s Twin Peaks restaurant, as well as several who weren't arrested on the day of the shooting.

The indictments charge engaging in organized crime.

Six of the indictments were sealed and named defendants who weren’t arrested at the scene of the shooting.

On November 11, 2015, a grand jury returned indictments charging engaging in organized criminal activity against 97 bikers and also handed up sealed indictments against nine other bikers who weren’t among those arrested

To date, 38 of the bikers arrested after the shootout have yet to be indicted.