Black Alabama Boat Captain Captured Amid A Chaotic Altercation In A Viral Video Is Now Charged With Assault. The family of Dameion Pickett feels that he was the target of an assault and that he should not be held accountable for the brawl that occurred on the waterfront in Montgomery. They think that he should not be punished for the incident.
Black Alabama Boat Captain Captured. Officials said on Thursday that the Black boat captain who was beaten by white boaters in a chaotic dockside fight recorded on viral video has been charged with assault in connection with the incident that occurred in Alabama.
A Montgomery court clerk said that Dameion Pickett, who the police have identified as the co-captain of the Harriott II riverboat, was issued a summons to appear before a magistrate on November 21 in connection with charges of assault in the third degree.
On August 5, Pickett could be seen on video seeming to dispute with boaters after requesting them to move over to make room for his vessel.
A shirtless white guy is then seen pushing Pickett violently in the chest before taking a swing at the captain’s face, which started the chaotic fight that ensued. Pickett was encircled by several other shirtless white males who immediately joined the melee.
According to Pickett’s relatives, they have been informed that the accusation arises from claims that the captain assaulted another guy named Zachary Shipman. Shipman was a witness to the alleged incident.
According to the captain’s sister, Nicole Pickett, Shipman has said that he “had nothing to do with” the battle and that he was only attempting to prevent one of his buddies from engaging in combat.
A person may file a complaint for a misdemeanor in Alabama, and a judge can then issue a summons requiring the accused individual to answer the charge, according to a spokesperson for the Alabama State Police.
According to the mayor and the head of the Montgomery Police Department, who issued a joint statement, “Neither the City nor the Montgomery Police Department filed these charges,” “The Montgomery Police Department’s investigation only lists Mr. Pickett as a victim.”
According to the information provided by a court clerk, however, Shipman is being charged with assault in the third degree.
On Thursday, attempts to get a comment from Shipman for this article were unsuccessful.
But even if Shipman were an innocent bystander or a peacekeeper, Pickett’s family believes that it is absurd to suppose that their loved one should have halted under the circumstances to consider who was around him before defending himself. They say this because it is unreasonable to think that their loved one should have considered who was around him before protecting himself.
“At that time, you got a bunch of angry a– guys beating up on you in the head, and you don’t know who hit you,” Nicole Pickett, the victim’s sister, said. “In self-defense, all you have to do is swing.”