3 charged after brawl in Montgomery goes viral; more charges likely

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Authorities have charged three men with assault after videos showing a brawl on the Montgomery riverfront went viral over the weekend.

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The men were identified as Richard Roberts, 48; Allan Todd, 23; and Zachary Shipman, 25. They were each charged with third-degree assault. Roberts faces two charges.

Third-degree assault is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of one year, upon conviction.

Videos from Saturday showed several men and women fighting on a dock in Montgomery. Police Chief Darryl Albert said the incident happened around 7 p.m. after a family refused to move a pontoon boat from a spot reserved for the Harriott II, a riverboat that takes tourists on trips along the Alabama River.

For more than 40 minutes, the boat — which was carrying 227 passengers — waited to dock as its captain tried to get the pontoon boat to move.

“They were only responded to with obscene gestures, curse words and taunting,” Albert said.

The riverboat’s co-captain, Damien Pickett, got on another vessel that took him to the pier. There, Albert said Pickett tried to talk to the owner of the pontoon boat. Instead, the chief said he was attacked by several people who were on the boat. Later, several people who had been on the Harriott II joined the fight.

The brawl appeared to have fallen mostly along racial lines, video shows. Pickett is Black while the people who were on the pontoon boat are white. Albert said a white 16-year-old boy who was on the boat that took Pickett to the pier was also attacked by one of the people on the pontoon boat. The boy, whose name was not released, was identified as an employee on the smaller vessel.

Albert said authorities conferred with the FBI and the District Attorney’s Office to determine whether any hate crime or riot charges could be filed in the case.

“We were unable to present any inciting a riot or racially based charges at this time,” he said.

Authorities continued Tuesday to interview witnesses and asked that a man seen on video striking people with a folding chair contact police.

“The investigation is ongoing, and more charges are likely,” Albert said. He added, “We have many, many more interviews to conduct. … I don’t think we’re near finished.”

One of the men charged in connection with Saturday’s fight has turned himself in to police in Selma, and the two others were expected to do the same on Tuesday afternoon, Albert said. The chief stressed that the incident is believed to be isolated.

“This is not indicative of who we are,” Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed said at a news conference. “As a matter of fact, the people in the pontoon boat are not residents of Montgomery, so I think it’s important to us to address this as an isolated incident, one that was avoidable and one that was brought on by individuals who chose the wrong path of action.”

In a statement Sunday, the mayor said police detained “several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job.”

“This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred,” he added. “As our police department investigates these intolerable actions, we should not become desensitized to violence of any kind in our community. Those who choose violence will be held accountable by our criminal justice system.”