Two more suspects in the Montgomery riverside brawl have surrendered to police

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Two additional suspects who were expected to turn themselves in on Tuesday for their alleged roles in Saturday’s riverfront brawl that made headlines across the country have been arrested, according to the Montgomery Police Department.

Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, turned themselves in on Wednesday around 6:45 p.m. and were each charged with one count of misdemeanor third-degree assault. Richard Roberts, 48, turned himself in on Tuesday and faces two third-degree assault charges.

The police department is also requesting that Reggie Gray come forward. Gray is believed to be the individual seen assaulting others with a folding chair in one video, and additional charges are expected to be filed.

MPD investigators are reviewing multiple videos submitted by the public, as well as the City of Montgomery’s own video surveillance systems. Anyone with additional footage is urged to submit it to [email protected].

According to MPD, the incident began shortly before 7 p.m. on Saturday on the dock along the Alabama River. Officers responded to the 200 block of Coosa Street for a disturbance call and discovered a large group of individuals involved in a physical altercation.

One video shared with WSFA 12 News shows the moments leading up to the confrontation and the initial scuffle that quickly escalated.

During a press conference on Tuesday, Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert stated that the incident began when private boat owners refused to move their boats from the location where the city-owned Harriot II Riverboat docks.

The boat’s captain attempted to move the private boat for 45 minutes via a PA system, but the private boat owners instead hurled obscenities and refused to move their vessel.

The co-captain eventually boarded a smaller boat and went to the dock in an attempt to get the boat owners to move, which ultimately led to a physical altercation.

According to court documents cited by CNN, a witness had claimed that racist language was used before the fight broke out on a pontoon boat in Alabama.

The witness reportedly gave a statement to law enforcement that the co-captain was trying to move the boat from the Harriott II’s docking spot when the slur was uttered.

The person responsible for the racist language has not been identified. Previously, the Mobile Police Department (MPD) stated that race was not a factor in the altercation and that state and federal partners agreed that the incident did not qualify as a hate crime due to insufficient information.

However, during a briefing on Tuesday, the police chief stated that the charges could be altered as more evidence is gathered. “At the time, we did not have access to all the videos that we have seen now, and all we had were witness statements.

Our officers and detectives had to wade through all that and then apply the appropriate charges,” explained the police chief. “As we gather more information and speak with more people, if charges need to be changed, we will do so.”