Alabama Riverboat Brawl: Three White Men Face 3rd-Degree Assault Charges, Police Searching for Black Man Who Fought With Folding Chair
Aug. 8 2023, Published 3:42 p.m. ET
Montgomery Police Chief Darryl J. Albert revealed three white men now face third-degree assault charges for their involvement in the Alabama riverboat brawl.
Thirteen individuals were detained but released after questioning, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Richard Roberts, 48, Alan Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 35, now face Class A misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in prison after further investigation.
Albert said one of the men is already in custody, and two are set to turn themselves in this afternoon for booking and processing. The four warrants issued are for the owners of the private boat, the police chief shared during a press conference on Tuesday.
Montgomery PD confirmed more charges may be looming, having consulted with the FBI to determine if the ordeal was a hate crime due to the dispute being racially divided. Investigators looked into whether there was enough evidence to charge for that or inciting a riot, but the actions did not meet the criteria, Albert told reporters.
Albert also referenced the Black man who was wielding a folding chair during the shocking brawl, identifying him as Reggie Gray.
Gray has not been charged with any crime at this point in time, but MPD wants him to come into the station for questioning.
Tension reached a boiling point after a dispute over a dockside parking spot at Montgomery's Riverfront Park between the crew of a large riverboat and the owners of a private boat, leading several others to rush in and one 16-year-old boy named Aaren to swim across the water to the dock so he could help out his colleague.
The designated docking space was for the Harriot, a tourist vessel. The Harriot's captain waited 40 minutes as he tried to reach the private boat owners via his PA system.
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The private boat passengers had been unruly, apparently responding with obscene gestures and cuss words. The chief said it escalated when a passenger of the private boat attacked the riverboat's lead deckhand. Harriot captain Jim Kittrell claimed he'd had issues with the same boaters before.
"This is the same group that comes every year," he said on Alabama's 93.1 radio station. "They're from Selma. And, we've had trouble with them in the past, but just like jokey things."
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