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No arrests have been made in the chaotic brawl that broke out on a dock near the Montgomery Riverfront Park on Aug. 5, Mayor Steven Reed revealed during a press conference Monday.
Reed said officials were still gathering details about what led up to the unruly attack of the Black dock worker who was kicked and punched by a group of white people after he asked them to move their pontoon boat out of a restricted area on the dock. The melee has since gone viral on social media.
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When asked if he thought the attack was racially motivated, the mayor declined to answer. “We can’t confirm or deny it at this time,” Reed said. “We’re investigating all angles of this and we’re talking to people who were there as we speak.”
Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert will provide more details about the ongoing investigation during a press conference on Aug. 8 at 1 p.m.
According to police, on Saturday at around 7 p.m. a brawl erupted on the 200 block of Coosa street.
“At the scene, they located a large group of subjects engaged in a physical altercation. Several subjects have been detained and any charges are pending,” Montgomery authorities said in a statement, according to AL.com
The police department added that four warrants were active and that there was a “possibility” more would follow after reviewing additional footage.
On Aug. 6 Reed took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and applauded officers for acting swiftly to detain the “reckless individuals” that attacked the Black dock worker “who was just doing his job.” The Mayor also reassured the public that justice would 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,” Reed’s written statement read. “Those who choose violent actions will be held accountable by our criminal justice system.”
What happened on the dock?
As NewsOne previously reported, the massive Riverfront brawl occurred when a small pontoon boat appeared to be blocking a large River boat from docking.
Video shared by several witnesses online captured the Black dock worker attempting to untie the pontoon boat after he asked the white group to move their boat from the area.
A white man then rushed up to the Black worker and began yelling furiously. After some bickering back and forth, the white suspect hurled a punch at the Black dock worker. The two men traded a few punches before a group of white men came rushing in and tackled the Black dock employee to the ground. While on the ground, the angry mob kicked and punched the Black worker until a group of bystanders rushed in to defend the dock employee.
The melee quickly spiraled out of control. Several people were thrown into the river. One white woman was slammed in the head with a folding chair during the chaotic brawl.
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Internet sleuths have been working fast to find the white perpetrators.
Internet detectives have been rallying together to find the white suspects who started the Riverfront altercation. Some netizens on X have been pointing the finger at Chase Shipman, who maintained his innocence after he was spotted in the middle of the massive fight.
According to TMZ, after the fight, Shipman, who owns Vasser’s Mini Mart in Selma, took to Facebook to tell his side of the story. He claimed he was only trying to break up the riverfront brawl and that he was one of the “first to try and get away” from the crazy altercation.
However, social media users weren’t buying his excuse. Netizens flooded the store owner with negative reviews on Google. The Vasser’s Mini Mart page racked up 300 one-star reviews, which have since been deleted.
NewsOne will continue to update you as this story develops.
SEE ALSO:
Montgomery Riverboat Brawl: A Cathartic Comedy Of Justice For Black America
Videos Show Brawl At Montgomery’s Riverfront Park, And It Was A Glorious Day In Black History
The post What Caused The Montgomery Riverfront Brawl? appeared first on NewsOne.
What Caused The Montgomery Riverfront Brawl? was originally published on newsone.com
