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Black deckhand attacked in Alabama riverfront brawl reveals vile threats
Black deckhand attacked in Alabama riverfront brawl reveals vile threats
A Black deckhand caught in the middle of the Alabama riverfront brawl revealed he was berated with threats by white boaters after he asked them to move their vessel so a dinner cruise could dock. Damien Pickett detailed the frightening moments in a written deposition to Montgomery police that was obtained by NBC News. The Harriott II’s senior deckhand said he had tried to reason with the pontoon boat occupants when he asked them to move, but was instead met with an attack that was captured on video. Mr Pickett recalled being pummeled by the boaters who yelled, “I’m gonna kill you, motherf*****, beat your ass, motherf*****.” “I can’t tell you how long it lasted,” he wrote in the deposition. “I grabbed one of them and just held on for dear life.” The Harriott II, which was carrying 227 passengers, had been trying to dock on Saturday evening in Montgomery but a pontoon boat was blocking their spot. After many calls over the PA system asking for the boat owners “five or six times” to move, Mr Pickett wrote, the men on the pontoon responded by “giving us the finger” for about three minutes. Mr Pickett said he and another dockhand then untied the pontoon boat and moved it “three steps to the right” and tied it back to a post so the Harriott II could dock. “By that time, two people ran up behind me,” Mr Pickett wrote. He added that one of the men, in a red hat, yelled to him, “Don’t touch that boat motherf***** or we will beat your ass.” “I told them, ‘No, you won’t,’” he continued, adding that the men kept threatening him, so he told them: “Do what you’ve got to do, I’m just doing my job.” Mr Pickett said the men appeared to be drunk and the boat’s owner, who was wearing a grey shirt and red shorts with a sun visor, “started getting loud … He got into my face. ‘This belongs to the f****** public.’ I told him this was a city dock.” The brawl broke out seconds later and Mr Pickett said that by that time, “a tall, older white guy came over and hit me in the face. I took my hat off and threw it in the air. Somebody hit me from behind. I started choking the older guy in front of me so he couldn’t anymore, pushing him back at the same time. “Then the guy in the red shorts came up and tackled me … I went to the ground. I think I hit one of them.” Finally, help had arrived, Mr Pickett said as he recounted a tall Black man and a security guard coming to his aid. “Two people were pulling them off me,” he said. But then before he knew it, “one of my co-workers had jumped into the water and was pushing people and fighting.” As the Harriott II finally docked, Mr Pickett’s said his nephew “ran off the boat and went after them. I was screaming for him to come back.” “The security guard was trying to get the lady in red to leave; she wouldn’t listen. People from off the boat and spectators were coming down the back end of the dock. The guy who started it all was choking my sister. I hit him, grabbed her and moved her … I turned around and MPD had a Taser in my face. I told him I was the one being attacked and could I finish doing my job.” Mr Pickett did just that as he helped passengers off the cruise boat and apologised to them “for the inconvenience. They all said I did nothing wrong,” he wrote. “Some of them were giving me cards with their names and numbers on it. Some said they had it all on film, so I pointed them out to MPD.” He was eventually transported to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. Five people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the brawl. Reggie Gray, 42, turned himself in to Montgomery Police on Friday, three days after the police chief asked him to get in contact with authorities for further questioning. He was charged with disorderly conduct, police said. Mary Todd, 21, was charged with assault in the third degree. She is currently behind bars in the Municipal Jail, the police added. She joins three other men who were arrested following the wild riverfront fight. It’s unclear whether she and Allen Todd, a 23-year-old man who turned himself in on Wednesday, are related. Zachary Shipman, 25, also turned himself in on Wednesday night after police asked him and Mr Todd to turn themselves in no later than Tuesday. Richard Roberts, 48, was also held in custody in Selma as of Tuesday. Police have previously said that the three men who were arrested were members of the pontoon boat, which was blocking the Harriott II riverboat from docking in its designated space. It’s unclear if Ms Todd was also aboard the craft. The captain of the Harriott II said he believes this interaction was “racially motivated,” but the massive brawl that transpired afterwards was not. Capt Jim Kitrell also noted earlier this week that he has had “trouble” with the pontoon boat owners in the past, and had considered pressing charges against them years ago, yet was talked out of it. Read More Fourth suspect charged with assault in Alabama riverfront brawl as she turns herself in to police Alabama dockside brawl was racially motivated, riverboat captain says Alabama riverboat captain reveals past ‘trouble’ with pontoon boat owners after brawl
2023-08-12 06:28
Blinken highlights the human toll of Ukraine war as Biden admin seeks to maintain support for Kyiv in Washington
Blinken highlights the human toll of Ukraine war as Biden admin seeks to maintain support for Kyiv in Washington
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened his remarks at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday recounting his recent trip to Yahidne -- a Ukrainian town roughly two hours north of Kyiv that had been occupied by Russian soldiers.
2023-09-21 04:50
German economy minister's office receives envelope with white powder
German economy minister's office receives envelope with white powder
BERLIN (Reuters) -German Economy Minister Robert Habeck's constituency office said on Thursday it had received an envelope containing a white
2023-05-25 17:16
Pokimane's attempt to conceal identity with voice changer fails to fool Valorant players, fans say 'not realistic at all'
Pokimane's attempt to conceal identity with voice changer fails to fool Valorant players, fans say 'not realistic at all'
Prominent female streamer Pokimane attempted to conceal her identity with voice-changing tools during a Valorant stream
2023-10-01 17:57
You can't make this up: Swifties 'find out' that priest blocking projection of Taylor Swift shirt on Christ statue is Ariana Grande fan
You can't make this up: Swifties 'find out' that priest blocking projection of Taylor Swift shirt on Christ statue is Ariana Grande fan
Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes acknowledged the fan's request to honor Taylor Swift in his X post
2023-11-16 19:46
Chris Christie gifted Zelensky handwritten Jon Bon Jovi lyrics
Chris Christie gifted Zelensky handwritten Jon Bon Jovi lyrics
Chris Christie presented Ukraine’s president with a uniquely New Jersey-themed gift when he arrived last week on a surprise visit that aimed to draw a line between the candidate and other Republicans in his party who have resisted calls to aid Ukraine’s military. Mr Christie presented Volodymyr Zelensky with handwritten lyrics to It’s My Life from Jon Bon Jovi, the song’s author. The gift was a gesture in recognition and admiration of a now-viral group of videos shot by residents of Odessa, Ukraine depicting civilians assisting with preparation for a Russian attack while a band plays the song for them nearby. An official with Ukraine’s foreign ministry first tweeted a video of siege preparation in March, urging supporters of Ukraine to tag Bon Jovi in the hopes that the bandleader would see. The videos were viewed millions of times and were soon celebrated by the band itself: “[The song] served as an inspiration for a lot of the citizens in Odessa, as they were preparing for the invasion by the Russians,” Mr Christie said during a CNN interview. “Jon wrote it out in his own hand, got it framed, and I brought it to President Zelensky,” he continued, adding that he told the Ukrainian leader that the song was also “representative of many of the American people and what they feel about the cause that’s being fought for in Ukraine.” Jon Bon Jovi’s personal political leanings are thought to be more towards the left — he has campaigned with a handful of Democratic politicians throughout the years, including Joe Biden in 2020. But his band is known to have given Mr Christie, formerly the governor of New Jersey, approval to use the Jerey-borne group’s music on the campaign trail. Mr Christie’s visit comes as Republican opposition to further military aid to Ukraine continues to bubble, particularly among the far-right. The ex-governor and others who find themselves aligned with the GOP and Washington foreign policy establishments have resisted those inclinations with public shows of support for Ukraine and Mr Zelensky. One of Mr Christie’s rivals for the GOP nomination, Mike Pence, visited Ukraine and met with Mr Zelensky in late June as Kyiv has become a sort of de facto campaign stop in the 2024 US presidential race. Read More Pence and Trump lawyer share opposite stories of what Trump said ahead of January 6 Chris Christie meets Volodymyr Zelensky in surprise Ukraine visit GOP presidential hopeful Chris Christie says 'inhumanity' of war is palpable during visit to Ukraine
2023-08-08 03:58
Mitsotakis Wins Parliamentary Vote to Clear Way for Economy Plan
Mitsotakis Wins Parliamentary Vote to Clear Way for Economy Plan
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis won parliamentary backing for his government’s agenda, clearing a four-year path for improving
2023-07-09 02:55
Chandrayaan-3: Indian lunar mission inches closer to Moon
Chandrayaan-3: Indian lunar mission inches closer to Moon
Chandrayaan-3 may not be the first to land on the south pole if it's beaten by Russia's new Moon mission.
2023-08-17 16:47
Living la vida yoga: India's Modi will bend leaders into shape on International Yoga Day
Living la vida yoga: India's Modi will bend leaders into shape on International Yoga Day
When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi leads foreign dignitaries and bureaucrats in a session for International Yoga Day on Wednesday at the United Nations’ Secretariat in New York, millions of Indians will take note
2023-06-20 12:46
Give yourself an at-home facial with $12 off this Solawave bundle
Give yourself an at-home facial with $12 off this Solawave bundle
SAVE $12: As of August 11, you can score Solawave's 4-in-1 Advanced Skincare Wand &
2023-08-11 23:45
China is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal faster than previous projections, a US report says
China is building up its nuclear weapons arsenal faster than previous projections, a US report says
A Pentagon report on China’s military power says Beijing is on track to significantly increase its nuclear weapons arsenal by 2030 and is “almost certainly” learning lessons from Russia’s war in Ukraine about what a conflict over Taiwan might look like
2023-10-19 22:19
Argentina Begins Counting Votes in Polarized Presidential Election
Argentina Begins Counting Votes in Polarized Presidential Election
Argentines are anxiously awaiting the outcome of Sunday’s polarized election runoff that will determine who will preside over
2023-11-20 05:16