Alabama Boat Brawl Witness Describes Watching Fight Break Out

A woman who witnessed a brawl in Montgomery, Alabama, this past weekend spoke out about what she saw when the incident unfolded.

A brawl occurred at about 7 p.m. on Saturday in Montgomery, according to local law enforcement. Videos from the ordeal soon went viral, showing a group of white individuals attacking a Black dock worker after a pontoon boat reportedly blocked the Harriott II Riverboat attraction from parking near Montgomery Riverfront Park. Police issued four warrants to participants in the fight in what Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed deemed "an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred."

Lauryn Lauren, who captured the fight on video and posted it to her Facebook page, spoke with Hot 105.7 radio in Alabama on Monday about the incident.

"I felt like it was just the privilege and audacity," she said. "These people are still sitting here after they have assaulted this man. If that ain't privilege or whatever you think, you better be held accountable."

Lauren explained that other people who were with her went down to the dock to attempt to deescalate the situation, but added that they eventually retreated "cause they didn't want to go to jail."

A spokesperson for the Montgomery Police Department previously told Newsweek that when officers arrived at the scene of the brawl, "they located a large group of subjects engaged in a physical altercation. Several subjects have been detained and any charges are pending."

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Reed wrote, "Last night, the Montgomery Police Department acted swiftly to detain several reckless individuals for attacking a man who was doing his job. Warrants have been signed and justice will be served."

"This was an unfortunate incident which never should have occurred. 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," the post added.

According to police, there are currently four active warrants in place for unknown individuals involved in the fight, with the spokesperson telling Newsweek that "there's a possibility more will follow after the review of additional video."

Newsweek reached out to the Montgomery Police Department via email for further comment.

Meanwhile, videos of the incident shared on social media show the group of white men attacking the dock worker.

X account BoreCure shared a video to the social media platform on Sunday, with a caption that read, "An extended version of the brawl that took place at Riverfront Park in Montgomery, Alabama."

As the video begins, the person filming can be heard discussing the situation explaining that the group of white men on the boat were informed that another boat had to dock in the same area.

As the video continued, the men begin attacking the dock worker until a group of Black men run onto the dock and engage in the fight. The altercation continues between the two groups of people and at one point, a man can be seen swimming through the water and emerging onto the dock to join the fight.

Meanwhile in the video posted to Facebook by Lauren, the group of white men can be seen getting back onto their boat after attacking the worker, as she mentioned in her radio interview. While on their boat, another group of people came and attacked the men on the boat. The altercation eventually came to a close and police arrived on the scene to intervene.