Alabama boat co-captain attacked in viral brawl says he was ‘just doing my job’

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama boat co-captain was hanging on “for dear life” as males punched and tackled him on the capital metropolis’s riverfront, he instructed police after video of the brawl circulated broadly on-line.

Dameion Pickett, a crew member of the Harriott II in Montgomery, described the brawl in a handwritten assertion to authorities included in courtroom paperwork, saying he was attacked after transferring a pontoon boat a couple of ft so the city-owned riverboat may dock.

Four white boaters have been charged with misdemeanor assault within the assault in opposition to Pickett, who’s Black, in addition to a teen deckhand, who was punched and is white. The deckhand’s mom heard a racial slur earlier than Pickett was hit, she wrote in an announcement.

A fifth particular person, a Black man who gave the impression to be hitting individuals with a folding chair in the course of the subsequent battle, has been charged with disorderly conduct, police introduced Friday.

Video of the melee sparked scores of memes and video reenactments.

Pickett instructed police that the captain had requested a bunch on a pontoon boat “at least five or six times” to maneuver from the riverboat’s designated docking house however they responded by “giving us the finger and packing up to leave.” Pickett and one other deckhand finally took a vessel to shore and moved the pontoon boat “three steps to the right,” he wrote.

He stated two individuals ran dashing again, together with one cursing and threatening to beat him for touching the boat. Pickett wrote that one of many males shouted that it was public dock house, however Pickett instructed them it was the town’s designated house for the riverboat. He stated he instructed them he was “just doing my job.” Pickett stated he was punched within the face and hit from behind. Pickett stated.

“I went to the ground. I think I bit one of them. All I can hear Imma kill you” and beat you, he wrote. He couldn’t inform “how long it lasted” and “grabbed one of them and just held on for dear life,” Pickett wrote.

After the battle was over Pickett stated he apologized to the riverboat prospects for the inconvenience as he helped them get off the boat.

The deckhand had gone with Pickett to maneuver the pontoon boat. His mom, who was additionally on the Harriott, stated in an announcement to police that her son tried to tug the lads off Pickett and was punched within the chest.

Darron Hendley, an legal professional listed in courtroom data for 2 of the individuals charged, declined to remark. It was not instantly clear if the others had an legal professional to talk on their behalf.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed stated Friday that the investigation is ongoing.

Police stated they consulted with the FBI and decided what occurred on the riverfront didn’t qualify as a hate crime. Reed, the town’s first Black mayor, stated he’ll belief the investigative course of, however stated his “perspective as a Black man in Montgomery differs from my perspective as mayor.”