Report: Barroom shooter says he feared for his life

By Journal staff | Thursday, August 14, 2008

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The man who opened fire in a Sturgis bar early Saturday morning seriously injuring another man after a brief altercation said he was forced to open fire after one of the men involved in the scuffle reached for his gun, according to a report by the Seattle Times.

------ Smith told that he was "cold-cocked by at least one, if not three, Hells Angels" before being pinned to the floor and receiving "fists and feet" during an altercation between the Hells Angels and a group of Iron Pigs motorcycle club about 1 a.m. Saturday at the Loud American Roadhouse.

According to the story in the Times, Smith said he tried to wriggle free, but "didn't have any leverage." The Hells Angel in the bandanna tried to grab for the detective's gun just as another man was choking him, the detective said.

Smith, a member of the Iron Pigs and a detective with the Seattle Police Department, said he pulled his handgun from his hip and opened fire.

On Monday, authorities identified the wounded Hells Angel club member as Joseph McGuire, 33, of Imperial Beach, Calif. McGuire remains in stable condition at an area hospital.

According to Meade County State's Attorney Jesse Sondreal, a grand jury convened for about seven hours on Sunday, interviewing 25 people about what happened in the moments leading up to the shooting.

Sondreal said no arrests have been made and that the investigation could continue until the grand jury reconvenes on Aug. 27.

The detective and four fellow Seattle police officers who were accompanying him were placed on administrative leave, but Smith was only briefly detained by local authorities before being allowed to return to Washington.

Smith has twice been investigated and disciplined by a civilian police-oversight group in the Seattle. One incident came at Seattle Seahawks game, when he got into an argument with a fan while working off-duty in 2004. In a second incident in 2005, he threatened a restaurant employee. Smith said in an interview with the Times that the employee was taunting and threatening him and his then-fiancee.