MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Police in Alabama are still seeking arrests of two boaters on felony charges related to a riverside brawl that drew national attention.
Major Saba Coleman of the Montgomery Police Department said two of the three suspects are still wanted. The three are charged in connection with an attack on a riverboat captain and another longshoreman that led to a riverside brawl in Alabama’s capital city.
“We have one attacker from the pontoon boat in custody. Two others broke their agreement to surrender to authorities, so MPD will do whatever it takes to bring them to justice,” Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed wrote on social media.
The two don’t live in Montgomery, so the police need help from another law enforcement agency to apprehend them.
The fight, where sides split along racial lines, began Saturday night when a moored pontoon boat blocked the Harriott II riverboat from docking in its designated space along the city’s riverbank.
The riverboat’s co-captain took another ship to shore to try to move the pontoon boat and was attacked by several whites from the private boat, police said. Video showed him being beaten and pushed. Crew members and others later confronted the pontoon boat party and more fighting broke out.
The video showed people being pushed, punched and kicked, and a black man hit a white man with a chair. At least one person fell into the water.
The three white water sports enthusiasts are the only people charged so far. Police have said more charges are likely as they continue to review video footage of the fight.
Video of the brawl circulated on social media, throwing Alabama’s capital city into the national spotlight.
“It was just absolutely unnecessary and inappropriate,” Alabama Governor Kay Ivey said Wednesday of the violence that took place.
