Alabama riverboat brawl deckhand says he was just ‘trying to do his job’ when crew of four jumped him
- Dameion Pickett, 43, was assaulted by the group of four on August 5
- He had moved their pontoon which was in the way of the Harriott II riverboat
- Zachary Shipman, Mary Todd, Richard Roberts and Allen Todd were all charged with misdemeanor assault
- Pickett and others on the boat say they yelled racial slurs while attacking him
The deckhand who was assaulted in a viral Alabama riverboat brawl last month said today he was just trying to ‘do his job’ when he was jumped and had racial slurs hurled at him.
Dameion Pickett, 43, was attacked on August 5th while trying to dock Harriott II, a riverboat in Montgomery, Alabama.
A private pontoon had illegally parked in the tourist boat’s place.
Pickett moved the other boat slightly to make room for the Harriott II, and was then attacked by four white people who he says yelled racial slurs while beating him.
Dameion Pickett, 43, was attacked on August 5th while trying to dock Harriott II, a riverboat in Montgomery, Alabama. He spoke out about the attack in an interview with GMA this morning
Pickett was confronted after moving another group’s pontoon in Montgomery, Alabama
One of the men in the other group punched him out of the blue while others on the Harriott II filmed
The group jumped Pickett, throwing him to the ground and, according to witnesses, yelling racial slurs
Once the Harriott had docked, others jumped in to join the fight. Four people were charged with assaulting Pickett.
In an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday, Pickett and two of his colleagues said they never expected the encounter to turn so violent.
‘This man just put his hand on me. I was, like … it’s my job, but I’m still defending myself at the same time. So when he touched me, I was, like, “It’s on,”‘ Pickett said.
After being ignored by the group, the Harriott II’s captain instructed Pickett to it for them.
‘[I] really just moved it about one, two, four– four steps to the right, that’s it,’ he said, adding he was concerned not just with the passengers on his boat, but with the other group’s pontoon.
Mary Todd, 21, turned herself in last month along with her boyfriend Zachary Shipman
DailyMail.com can reveal the mugshots of Allen Todd, 23, and Richard Roberts were also charged
‘If our boat hit theirs, it would sink, he said.
Pickett was immediately violently confronted by the other boat’s owners who almost immediately started hitting him.
Roshein ‘Rahrah’ Carlton, who works as a steward on the Harriott II and is a years-long friend of Pickett, said he heard the group of white boat owners yelling racial slurs.
‘It’s our duty as– as our coworker, as a team, to go and aid and assist him,’ he said.
Sixteen-year-old Aaren Hamilton-Rudolph, who was working on the boat, jumped in to the water and swam to Pickett when he saw him come under attack
Hamilton-Rudolph had only been on the job for two weeks, but said he felt compelled to help when he saw his colleague coming under attack
Pickett, Hamilton-Rudolph and Roshein ‘Rahrah’ Carlton, (right) who works as a steward on the Harriott II and is a years-long friend of Pickett, on Monday morning
The four people who have been charged so far are shown sitting on the dock in handcuffs
Eventually, dozens joined in the fight – including 16-year-old Aaren Hamilton-Rudolph, who worked on the Harriott II and was filmed jumping in to the water and swimming to the dock to help Pickett.
He’d only been on the job for two weeks at the time, but felt compelled to step in.
‘When they first started hitting on him, no one helped. I couldn’t just watch and let him get beat on. Everyone else was just recording it,’ he said.
Pickett said he is grateful he was not more seriously injured.
‘I got some bumps and bruises here and there, I am here by the grace of God.
‘I went to work to work, not to be in a fight or get jumped,’ he said.
Zachary Shipman, Mary Todd, Richard Roberts and Allen Todd were all charged with misdemeanor assault.
They are due in court this week. Attorneys representing some of the group previously denied that racial slurs were used.
A woman at the Alabama riverfront brawl says she heard a white attacker say ‘F**k that n*****’ to the black deckhand at the center of the shocking incident
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