Alabama's Montgomery Police Department released new information Tuesday about the boat brawl over the past weekend, including the names of three suspects.
During a press conference, Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert identified the suspects as 48-year-old Richard Roberts, 23-year-old Allen Todd and 25-year-old Zachery Shipman. Roberts had two outstanding warrants for assault in the third degree, while Todd and Shipman had one outstanding warrant each for the same charge.
One of the suspects has turned himself in to the Selma Police Department, Albert said, and the other two are expected to do the same. No other information on the suspects was released by the police.
On Saturday, police responded to reports of a disturbance at Montgomery Riverfront Park. Videos posted on social media showed the brawl breaking out between a large number of people at a dock.
Albert said during the press conference that the melee erupted after a group of people on a private pontoon boat refused to move from where the Harriott II Riverboat was supposed to dock.
Members of the private pontoon boat then attacked the co-captain of the Harriot II, which led to other members of the boat jumping off and getting involved in the altercation.
In his press conference, Albert said two victims were struck by others during the incident. One was identified as the co-captain of the Harriot II Riverboat. The second victim was a 16-year-old white juvenile male "who was struck by the owners and operators of the private boat," the police chief said.
Additionally, police are asking a 42-year-old Black man, identified as Reggie Gray, to contact the department. He was seen in videos on social media "wielding that folding chair" during the altercation.
Shortly after videos of the fight circulated on social media, some speculated that it might have been motivated by race. But Albert said that after consultation with the Montgomery district attorney's office and the local FBI office, the incident "didn't fit the criteria for that."
"Based on the way the statutes read and the law is crafted, we were unable to present any inciting a riot or racially biased charges at this time," he said.
"While the Harriott was still out in the water, there was a lot of—I've seen finger gestures and comments and innuendos made at a distance. Of course, when the co-captain approached, that continued," the chief said.
Police initially took 13 individuals into custody on Saturday evening. Albert said the investigation is ongoing and more charges could come.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
