Two participants in an Alabama dock brawl that went viral last summer have been sentenced – one to prison and the other to an anger management class.
Richard Roberts, 48, who pleaded guilty to raping for his role in the violent fight, was ordered to serve 32 days in jail along with 100 hours of community service. He also has to pay court costs.
Mary Todd, 21, was charged with misdemeanor harassment and will enroll in an anger management course as part of a plea deal. He will also bear the court costs associated with his case.
Three additional defendants – Allen Todd, 24, Zachary Shipman, 26, and Reggie Ray, 42 – have yet to settle their cases.
Todd and Shipman were charged with third-degree assault, while Ray — who used a wheelchair during the fight — faces a disorderly conduct rap.
Mary Todd was charged with misdemeanor harassment in connection with a fight that occurred in the Montgomery beach area. Montgomery PD Richard Roberts was jailed for his role. Montgomery/MEGA PD Allen Todd faces third-degree assault charges. Montgomery PD/MEGA Reggie Ray was holding a folding chair during the fight.Montgomery PD/MEGA Zachary Shipman also faced a third-degree assault rap in the fight.Montgomery PD/MEGA
The fight erupted when a tourist riverboat carrying 227 passengers was unable to dock in August because a private pontoon boat was parked in its hold, Montgomery police said at the time.
The riverboat’s co-captain, Damien Pickett, called on the public address system for the occupants of the pontoon boat to move but was bombarded with profanity and obscene gestures.
Pickett was then taken to the dock in an attempt to speak to the passengers of the pontoon boat in person and was attacked after further words were exchanged.
Some of Pickett’s colleagues on the riverboat jumped to his defense as stunned onlookers watched the fight deteriorate, with the crowd joining the fray.
The fight escalated after people jumped in. Riverboat Twitter co-captain Damien Pickett attacked on dock.via NBC
A witness told police that the occupants of the pontoon boat used racial slurs during the attack on Pickett, who is black.
But prosecutors declined to hit the attackers with hate crime charges, and Pickett himself told investigators he did not believe race played a role in the incident.
A white teenage dock worker who accompanied Pickett during his attempts to speak with the boat’s passengers was also beaten, officials said.
Footage of the chaos quickly went viral around the world.Getty Images
“It’s important for us to understand that there was a young white dockworker or someone who worked on the boat who was also trying to help and was attacked as well,” Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed said after the footage went viral.
The city’s police chief, who is black, said the case had been thoroughly investigated.
“Knowing the history of Montgomery, knowing all the civil rights things that we’ve been through here in the city of Montgomery and what it’s been like for the country, we’re very passionate about getting this right,” said Chief Darryl Albert.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
