Following the recent arrests of three white men involved in the Montgomery Riverfront brawl, a second dock worker is now claiming that the suspects called the Black deckhand the n-word and threatened to get a gun.
As we’ve previously shared, on Saturday (August 5), a Black dock worker at Alabama’s Montgomery Riverfront Park was attacked by a group of white men after he told them numerous times to move their pontoon boat that was wrongly parked in the dock space for a riverboat pulling up to the dock.
To no avail, the dock worker took matters into his own hands and decided to move the pontoon boat himself, leading to an argument with one of the white men from the boat. The argument quickly escalated to the Black man being jumped, and led to other Black men and women to come to the dock worker’s defense. The melee continued with more patrons fighting each other, Black on white.
RELATED: Montgomery Mayor Says ‘Justice Will Be Served’ After Massive Brawl Breaks Out On Alabama Riverfront
Since the viral moment, several clips, memes and even reenactments have surfaced. But soon enough the suspects involved were identified with arrest warrants issued. On Tuesday (August 8), Montgomery, Alabama authorities identified 48-year-old Richard Roberts as a suspect, who is facing two misdemeanor counts of assault in the third degree.
Also listed was 23-year-old Allen Todd and 25-year-old named Zachary Shipman, both who are facing one misdemeanor count of assault in the third degree. It was also noted that a 42-year-old Black man named Reggie Gray, who went viral for slamming people with a folding chair, was being asked to report to police for additional questioning. More charges are pending.
During police questioning of all suspects and witnesses to the brawl, it is now being reported that a second dock worker gave police a statement, offering more wild details from the day in Montgomery.
The woman, Crystal Warren, said she was working on the riverboat when things took place. She said one of the white men who attacked the Black deckhand yelled, “F**k that n***a” before he came rushing down the dock to start fighting.
Warren told police that the captain of the riverboat, that was waiting to dock, initially asked the pontoon boat owners to move their vessel. Warren said the captain was then cursed out and given middle fingers from the white men.
After being stuck, waiting for 17 minutes, a smaller boat grabbed the Black deckhand and Warren’s 16-year-old son Daniel from the riverboat and took them to the dock, which is when the deckhand decided to move the boats blocking the dock himself. That’s when the white men alleged began yelling out the n-word.
In addition to an alleged mention of the n-word, Warren also said that one of the white men took things further and threatened to go and grab a gun as the brawl ensued. Warren said her son ended up getting punched in the chest as he tried to break up the fight. She said he’s since suffered bruised ribs and went to the hospital to be treated. One of the men in custody, Richard Roberts, is the man accused of punching Daniel.
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