Alabama Boat Workers Had Problems With Group Ahead of Fight

A boat worker in Alabama has spoken out about a recent brawl and said that he and his crew have had issues with those involved in the fight in the past.

On Saturday, officers with the Montgomery Police Department in Alabama responded to the brawl at the 200 block of Coosa Street close to the waterfront by Riverfront Park and the city's baseball stadium.

On Monday, Jim Kittrell, the captain of the Harriot II, spoke with News & Views with Joey Clark on Alabama's 93.1 radio station about the recent brawl by the park.

He explained that he was attempting to dock the Harriot II boat but was blocked by a pontoon boat. During his interview, Kittrell said that it was not the first time he has encountered the group of people who were on the pontoon boat and were involved in the brawl.

"This is the same group that comes every year. They're from Selma and we've had trouble with them in the past, but just like jokey things. Like, a couple of years ago, this same group was here. We came back from a cruise and our golf cart was missing[...]we finally found it in the Hampton Inn lobby.

"We looked at the Hampton Inn video. Found out who did it and we had them come down. We were going to press charges then, but the police talked us out of it," Kittrell told the radio station.

Newsweek reached out to Kettrell for comment via Facebook on Tuesday.

"At the scene, they (officers) located a large group of subjects engaged in a physical altercation. Several subjects have been detained and any charges are pending," a spokesperson for the Montgomery Police Department told Newsweek on Monday.

Videos of the fight posted on social media show it beginning with a group of white men attacking a Black man at the riverfront, who was reportedly a dock worker. As the videos continue, the group of white men get back on their pontoon boat but when the Harriot II comes closer to the dock, a number of men jump off and begin attacking the group on the pontoon boat. The fight continues to escalate until police arrive and eventually break it up.

The Montgomery Police Department has not yet released the names of those involved in the fight, but many on social media have shared photos and posts of people that they claim were involved.

Chase Shipman, the owner of Vasser's Mini Mart in Selma, wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post that he witnessed the fight but did not get involved.

"There is a video of me being the first to run away because what was happening was wrong and I did not want to be a part of it. I realize I have a business to run and represent and no charges were filed against me because I was not involved," the post said, according to screenshots posted online.

Newsweek reached out to the Montgomery Police Department via email for updated information.