Bird Rock Bandits Caged
Tuesday May 13, 2008
San Diego is one of the coolest surf cities in the world. The people are awesome, and the surf gets downright world-class. If you've ever surfed big, clean Black's, you know what I'm saying. Windansea gets solid too, but according to allegations, local Windansea thugs (an alleged gang called the Bird Rock Bandits) practiced decidely non-surf behavior in the form of violent localism.
This angry and violent group have been implicated in the beating death of local surfer, Emery Kauanui (related to a bar altercation). Although the Bandits have stated that the death was an accident, others maintain that this was nothing more than organized gang behavior. What do you think? Read this article and decide for yourself. Does localism have any place in surfing? Are visiting surfers just asking for it? Is this just a fight gone wrong? Have you seen this "gang mentality" invade your local surfing experience? This is a sad and tragic case that is doubtless happening in other locales as well.
Comments
Since I live in the SD area, I have been following this story with some interest. Gang related or not, these punks suckered Kauanui and he is dead. If one is going to take a swing at someone, then the chance is being taken that the person could get seriously hurt enough to die. PERIOD.
Lock em up…. RIP Emery.
I surf and live in Carcavelows just outside LIsbon Portugal. Lots of crowds and hence lots of problems however people get on with it. Those guys, deserve the full force of the law on them, the victims family deserve justice to be seen to be delivered. Surfing is choking on itself whether it is commercialism too many schools etc. SOmebody slap it on the back…hard. My prayers to the victim and his family, hope they find some peace. Perpetrators, hope you find forgiveness.
I’ve surfed al over La Jolla and run into *ssholes like this all the time who use violence and intimidation towards non locals and who ever else they target. Well I’m not from La Jolla, I grew up in National City in the 80’s when it was the murder capital of San diego county for quite a few years in a row. I’ve seen the gang lifestyle firsthand. I hope these punks get to do some serious state time with some real gangsters who also like to fight to the death, maybe the won’t make it out. Karma.