CNN’s Sara Sidner Presses Police Chief on Montgomery Boat Dock Brawl: Why No Hate Crimes Charge?

CNN anchor Sara Sidner pressed Montgomery Alabama Police Chief Darryl Albert to explain why no hate crimes charges are being pursued in the boat dock brawl that started when a group of White boaters attacked a Black city employee — riverboat Co-Captain Damien Pickett.

Chief Albert revealed in a press conference Tuesday that three White men are being charged in the brawl: Richard Roberts, 48, is charged with two counts of third-degree assault; Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, are each charged with one count of 3rd degree assault. He also revealed that no hate crimes or rioting charges are being pursued.

On Tuesday night’s edition of CNN Tonight, Sidner asked Chief Albert to explain why no hate crimes have been charged, and Albert explained that the incident “didn’t meet the threshold” — but that could change:

SIDNER: Chief, you have ruled out crimes or rioting charges, but hate crimes in particular, you have ruled those out. Why is that?

ALBERT: Well, I will tell you, we looked at it internally. We looked at the entire case, the case in its totality.

We looked at the merits of the case. And we have not only talked about things internally, but we have reached out to our local, state and federal partners to see that we are heading down the right path, that we’re applying the appropriate charges.

And based on the matrix for hate crimes, it just didn’t meet that threshold. Now, I will say this investigation is ongoing. I know you have heard that and the community has heard that over and over again, but it is on going.

And as new developments come forward — forward and our way, we will amend charges as necessary or as needed. So, we continue to ask the public to provide those pieces of video surveillance to us, to come forward, be good stewards and good witnesses for us, so that we can continue this investigation and let it go whatever path it takes.

If it rises to the level of hate crimes, if it rises to the level of inciting a riot or whatever that looks like, we will enable and we will do just that.

So, again, hats off to the community, hats off to everyone who participated and got themselves involved and talked to the Montgomery Police Department and gave us that much-needed video and those much-needed witness statements to help us properly charge at this time.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about that.

Had that video not surfaced, had there not been the very start of — what appears to be the very start of it and how this all began, do you think the police would have had the tools to arrest the right folks in all of this?

ALBERT: Well, what we did was detain 13 individuals on the spot.

Those 13 individuals was brought over to police headquarters, and extensive interviews went on for hours and hours. And, at the time, we did not have the luxury of all the videos that we have seen now, that you and have all seen and that the world has seen.

Basically, what we had was witness statements and he said/she said. So, our police officers and detectives had to decipher through all of that and then apply the appropriate charges at that time. So, again, as we gain more information, as we get more video, as we talk to more individuals, if charges are to be amended, they will be. They will be amended as appropriately as necessary to make the final judgment on this case.

But, again, that is not indicative of what we are here in the city of Montgomery. We strive hard to be a fun community, city, and we just love all the things that we have going on in the city at this time. There’s a lot of growth. There’s a lot of visitors coming here to see what this city has to offer.

And this is not going to set us back. This will be something that’s going to help us get through this and move forward, move forward as a city, move forward as a group of people that’s here to help each other and love and learn and enjoy our city.

So, we welcome folks to come. Montgomery is open. This was an isolated incident. And, again, we’re going to move forward from this.

SIDNER: Can you tell me, sir, do you think more arrests might happen? You talked about potentially more charges.

Do you see more arrests happening as well?

ALBERT: Well, we are surely looking at every piece of evidence that’s come in.

We have hundreds of videos and witness statements at this time. And I would say, at this point, it’s highly likely that more arrests, more individuals will face charges.

Watch above via CNN Tonight.