Two men who were part of the massive clash at the Montgomery Riverfront over the summer after they refused to move their private boat from the official docking space of a riverboat have pleaded guilty to harassment, while the Black co-captain at the center of the melee has seen all charges against him dropped.
Prosecutors downgraded the initial charge of third-degree assault against Zachary Shipman and Allen Todd, who both agreed to a plea deal on Dec. 8. Instead of having to serve a 60-day jail sentence, the pair will have to complete a 12-month probation period, complete 100 hours of community service, pay their court costs, and enroll in anger management training.
Shipman and Todd were part of a huge fight that broke out along a dock in the Alabama capital on Aug. 5 after tensions escalated between their private boat party, full of white boaters, and Black riverboat co-captain Damien Pickett.
Police said that the private boat docked in a space only authorized for riverboats. As the cruise ship Pickett was captaining approached the dock, the crew saw the boat and Pickett used the ship’s PA system to tell its occupants to move. However, they only responded with “obscene gestures, curse words, and taunting,” according to Montgomery Police Chief Darryl Albert.
So Pickett took a smaller vessel to the dock to speak to them face to face, but Albert said the boat occupants became “very hostile” with him before attacking him.
A few of the 227 passengers onboard the riverboat as well as bystanders on or near the dock came to Pickett’s defense after seeing the encounter escalate to a full-blown fight.
Several people recorded videos of the melee involving dozens of people, which drew millions of views from across the country and subsequently incited numerous memes, parodies, as well as calls for accountability.
One of the white boaters ended up filing an assault charge against Pickett, which a judge later dismissed.
A few videos show a man famously coming to Pickett’s aide with a white chair. That man, identified as Reggie Ray, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. He has to serve a 90-day suspended sentence on the condition that he complete 50 hours of community service, court records show.
Two other members of the private boat party — Mary Todd and Richard Roberts — were also charged.
Todd pleaded guilty to harassment and must complete anger management courses. Richards, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, has to serve 32 days in jail and complete community service.
