Charges Pressed in Montgomery Riverboat Brawl; While folding chairs become Empowering Black Symbol
All hell breaks loose at the city-owned Harriot II Riverboat docks in white vs. black brawl
Three suspects & now a fourth reportedly have now been charged regarding Saturday's brawl on Montgomery's riverfront. Allen Todd (L) and Zachary Shipman (R) turned themselves Wednesday. Richard Roberts (Center) surrendered Tuesday. (Source: Montgomery Police Department)
The Montgomery Police Department has announced the detention of individuals who were due to turn themselves in Tuesday for their suspected participation in Saturday's riverside fight, which drew national attention.
Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, brought themselves in at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday and were charged with misdemeanor third-degree assault.
Richard Roberts, 48, surrendered on Tuesday and is charged with two counts of third-degree assault.
Montgomery police are also requesting that a guy named Reggie Gray contact them.
He is reportedly shown in one video hitting others with a folding chair, and further accusations are likely.
MPD detectives are sifting through a slew of recordings given by the public as well as footage from the City of Montgomery's own video surveillance systems. Anybody with more footage is asked to send it to Starcenter@montgomeryal.gov.
According to MPD, the incident began soon before 7 p.m. Saturday on the dock near the Alabama River. Units were dispatched to the 200 block of Coosa Street in response to a disturbance. Officers arrived on the scene to find a large group of persons engaged in a violent conflict.
A viewer provided a video with WSFA 12 News that spans around four minutes and 30 seconds and depicts the events leading up to the altercation and the initial scuffle that swiftly escalated.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert stated that the incident began when private boat owners refused to move their boats away from where the city-owned Harriot II Riverboat docks. During 45 minutes, the boat's skipper attempted to communicate via a PA system. The private boat owners, on the other hand, hurled obscenities at the Harriot and refused to move their boat, according to the chief.
Afterwards, the co-captain boarded a smaller boat and proceeded to the pier in an attempt to persuade the boat owners to relocate, which resulted in the violent altercation.
It's unknown who is accused of making the remarks.
Albert previously stated that MPD did not feel race was a factor in the altercation and that they conferred with state and federal partners who concluded that there was insufficient evidence to label the event a hate crime.
While all charges are presently misdemeanors, the police chief stated during Tuesday's conference that this might change.
“At the time, we did not have the luxury of all the videos that we have seen now, that you and I have seen, and that the world has seen. Basically all we had were witness statements and he-said, she-said so our police officers and detectives had to decipher through all that and then apply the appropriate charges at that time,” Albert unpacked.
“So again, as we gain more information, as we get more video, as we talk to more individuals, if charges are meant to be amended, they will be.”
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