A person accused of utilizing a chair to assault others throughout a brawl in Montgomery, Ala., final weekend turned himself in to the police on Friday, the authorities stated, turning into the fifth particular person charged in a combat that captured nationwide consideration largely due to the racial overtones.
The person, Reggie Ray, 42, turned himself in to the Montgomery Police Division and was charged with disorderly conduct, Capt. Jarrett Williams stated in an announcement.
Calls positioned to cellphone numbers listed as belonging to Mr. Ray weren’t instantly returned on Saturday. It was not instantly clear if he had a lawyer.
Mr. Ray’s arrest got here days after the police charged 4 different folks with assault in reference to the brawl, which broke out final week alongside a waterfront the place a gaggle of white boaters attacked a Black riverboat cruise captain.
The altercation started on the metropolis’s well-liked Riverfront Park after a pontoon boat docked in an area designated for the Harriott II, a riverboat cruise that was getting back from a visit on the Alabama River.
For 45 minutes, the captain of the Harriott II instructed the pontoon boat through the general public announcement system to maneuver out of the way in which, to no avail.
As a substitute, the white boaters responded with gestures, cursing and taunting, the police stated.
Dameion Pickett, a co-captain of the Harriott, was given a experience on a small boat to the dock so he might speak with the pontoon house owners, the police stated. However when Mr. Pickett, who’s Black, tried to maneuver the pontoon, the house owners of the boat confronted and attacked him, prompting members of the Harriott’s crew and bystanders to return to his protection.
Quickly, a melee broke out, and movies of the episode drew a big social media response, notably a second that concerned Mr. Ray, who’s Black.
In movies, Mr. Ray is seen wielding a folding chair and hanging a white man and a white girl with it.
Movies additionally confirmed one of many white males punching Mr. Pickett, who was jumped on and overwhelmed by the opposite white boaters. One among them additionally seems to attempt to place Mr. Pickett in a headlock.
The 4 individuals who turned themselves in to the police this week had been recognized as: Allen Todd, 23; Zachery Shipman, 25; Richard Roberts, 48; and Mary Todd, 21.
Mr. Todd and Mr. Shipman had been every charged with one rely of third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. Mr. Roberts was charged with two counts of third-degree assault; and Ms. Todd was charged with third-degree assault.
Mayor Steven L. Reed, Montgomery’s newly elected first Black mayor, said on Facebook: “In Montgomery, not solely will we defend our crew members, however we are going to defend our residents. When you violate the sanctity of our neighborhood and the security of our residents, then you can be dropped at justice.”