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Law enforcement officials in Montgomery, Alabama revealed they contacted the FBI about hate charges related to the Riverfront Park brawl last weekend.
On Tuesday (Aug. 8), Montgomery Police Department Chief Darryl J. Albert held a press conference to announce that there were criminal charges being brought in the infamous brawl that took place at Riverfront Park on Saturday (Aug. 5), captured on video. Given that the fight broke out along racial lines, Chief Albert stated that they did contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation to determine whether to file hate crime charges over the incident. “We were unable to present any inciting a riot or racially biased charges at this time,” he said.
The victims in the assault at the dock were Damien Pickett, the Black co-captain of the riverboat, and an unnamed white 16-year-old who transported Pickett to the dock at the outset of what led to the brawl. Chief Albert explained that the incident didn’t meet the criteria, but that they were still investigating. “I don’t think we’re near finished,” the chief said in an interview with reporter Sara Sidner of CNN. “As new developments come forward, we will amend charges as necessary … If it rises to the level of hate crimes, if it rises to the level of inciting a riot, or whatever that looks like … we will do just that,” he continued.
Currently, three white males – Richard Roberts (who has two warrants for third-degree assault), Allen Todd and Zachary Shipman – are charged in the case. Roberts is currently in custody. The three men and others involved are reported to have ties to the Vassar’s Mini Mart in Selma, but the Facebook page for the business has been taken down, according to reports. Chief Albert did add that they were looking for an unidentified Black man who used a chair in the melee for questioning.
The brawl began as the Harriott II riverboat arrived at the dock and found a private watercraft in its usual parking space. After 45 minutes of trying to get the boat to move, Pickett was ferried to the dock to get the boat’s owners to move but was confronted in a “very hostile manner,” leading to Pickett tossing his hat in the air before being attacked by the group of white men. Other Black bystanders came to Pickett’s aid, escalating the confrontation, which would become viral on social media.
