Black Riverboat Co-Captain Charged with Assault after Montgomery Dockside Brawl

Charges filed by individual involved in brawl, not city police or prosecutor; incident occurred when Pickett, who is black, engaged with white boaters who refused to move their pontoon boat for docking.

Dameion Pickett, the Black co-captain of the Harriott II riverboat in Montgomery, Alabama, has been charged with third-degree assault following an altercation that occurred in August when white boaters refused to move their pontoon boat so that the Harriott II could dock.
The charges were filed not by city police or prosecutors, but by Zachary Shipman, an individual involved in the brawl who also faces an assault charge. This is reportedly because, in Alabama, a person can lodge a misdemeanor complaint, resulting in a magistrate issuing a summons for the accused person to appear.
As per various accounts, the brawl ensued when Pickett moved the pontoon boat blocking the riverboat's path himself, prompting the white boaters to attack him. Other people then intervened to defend Pickett, escalating the incident into a larger fight.
Five other people were previously charged in relation to the brawl. Two of the white boaters already pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault or harassment charges. Three other people, including a Black man filmed swinging a folding chair, have upcoming court dates.
Despite the charges, the Pickett family asserts that Dameion was acting in self-defense during the incident, claiming it would be unreasonable to expect him to distinguish who was attacking him amidst the chaos. Official statements from the mayor and police chief also state that the city and police department's investigation identifies Pickett as a victim, not an offender.