A procession involving hundreds of Hells Angels members made its way from York Region to Toronto “without incident” police said.
The procession, which Toronto police said Wednesday is in honour of a deceased member of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, began in Newmarket before heading down Highway 404 to Toronto.
Earlier on Wednesday, York Regional Police Const. Amy Boudreau said the force was “aware that a large gathering of Hells Angels motorcycle gang members and their associates is taking place in Newmarket this morning.”
Boudreau said the force was expecting “about a thousand participants” would be meeting in the Harry Walker Parkway South and Davis Drive Area.
“Because of this, (the) community can expect a heightened police presence in the area,” she said. “We’ve got officers from our crowd management, public safety and community-oriented response units, as well as our front-line officers attending the area strictly for public safety.”
When asked about possible illegal activity, Boudreau said officers “didn’t anticipate any issues” but said they were monitoring and had resources available as needed.
York Regional Police said there were road closures in the area of Leslie Street and Davis Drive in Newmarket Thursday morning.
The procession later made its way out of Newmarket and all road closures there were lifted.
The procession then made its way to Toronto. The expected route was south on the Don Valley Parkway (DVP), east on Lake Shore Boulevard East and then north on Carlaw Avenue before stopping at a location for a gathering.
Police haven’t specified who exactly the memorial event is in honour of, but many were seen wearing armbands that said “in memory of Donny Petersen,” who was the head of the Hells Angels Toronto chapter.
Petersen died in December 2021.
Toronto police said delays were expected around 11 a.m. to noon on the DVP and Lake Shore Boulevard East and then again between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
However, in a tweet just after 4:10 p.m., the force said all roads in the 55 Division — including Carlaw Avenue between Eastern Avenue and Lake Shore Boulevard East — had reopened to traffic and for parking.
Hells Angels members, along with members from other motorcycle groups from different parts of southern Ontario, were seen gathered at a Hells Angels location on Carlaw Avenue earlier on Thursday.
They were having a barbecue, standing around and chatting.
Investigative units from various police forces were there taking photos and gathering intelligence.
A RIDE squad was also on scene if needed.
The event comes ahead of another large Hells Angels gathering in Durham Region this weekend.
On Monday, Durham Regional Police held a press conference advising the public that hundreds of Hells Angels members from across the country are expected to gather in Whitby this weekend for their “2022 Canada Run event,” which the Durham deputy police chief said is an opportunity for members of the group to gather together.
— With files from Adam Dabrowski and Catherine McDonald and Hannah Jackson