Over the weekend, a brawl broke out on the Montgomery waterfront resulting in the issuance of four active warrants with the possibility of more to come.
Montgomery’s mayor, Steven L. Reed, called the incident “unfortunate” and “intolerable.” Videos of the incident revealed multiple individuals being detained and put in handcuffs.
The Montgomery Police Department has stated that any charges are still pending. The police department will release an update on Monday afternoon.
The altercation started with a dispute over parking space at a dock, according to eyewitness accounts posted on social media. We must not become desensitized to violence of any kind in our community, and those who choose violence will be held accountable by our criminal justice system.
Justice will be served for the victim who was just doing his job, and we hope to prevent any similar incidents from happening in the future.
#WATCH A brawl near Montgomery’s Riverfront Park has led to multiple arrests. @wsfa12news pic.twitter.com/PEbFynGhxb
— Brady Talbert (@BradyTalbert) August 6, 2023
In a video clip shared by Josh Moon, a journalist for the Alabama Political Reporter, a disturbing incident unfolds as a Black man, who seems to be a dock worker, is confronted by a white man.
The situation quickly escalates when another shirtless white man strikes or shoves the Black man in the head. The video fails to disclose the reason for the altercation or any verbal exchange that may have occurred beforehand. The incident seems to have been primarily motivated by racial tensions.
The dock worker and the man who attacked him engage in a brief shoving match before a white man tries to intervene by placing his hand on the Black man. However, two more shirtless white men charge in, and one tackles the Black man to the dock.
Another shirtless man jumps in, followed quickly by a fourth. One of them shoves away another white man who appears to be trying to intervene. During the incident, two white women can be seen on the scene, but it is unclear whether they are supporting the fight.
The events that took place, and the ones that followed, were witnessed by a large and vocal audience.
The crowd consisted of people on the riverboat where the first video was shot and a group of onlookers on land overlooking the dock. In the first video, the initial altercation starts to dissolve as a Black bystander joins in. Another individual jumps off the riverboat and swims over to the dock to participate as well.
As the first Black man, easily identifiable by his black shorts and white shirt, attempts to head back in the direction he came from, he is physically confronted by one of the women. Moments later, a second video is taken, and it shows a group of Black men running off the riverboat.
They make their way towards a pontoon boat that apparently carried some of the people involved in the incident. Within seconds, fighting breaks out once again.
It involves two white men and a white woman who were on the pontoon boat, another white man and woman who were trying to join them, and more than half a dozen Black men. The first officers or uniformed security guards can be seen attempting to break up the brawl.
Despite their efforts, the fighting continues for several moments, both at the pontoon boat and the riverboat, before eventually tapering off. After the altercation, the officers begin to arrest and cuff those involved, regardless of race.
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