Current:Home > NewsBand director shocked with stun gun, arrested for not leaving stands after game -ValueCore
Band director shocked with stun gun, arrested for not leaving stands after game
View
Date:2025-04-25 19:13:20
Police have released body camera footage involving the arrest of an Alabama high school band director who was shocked with a stun gun after officers say he refused to comply with orders to stop playing and resisted arrest.
The incident occurred Thursday at P.D. Jackson-Olin High School in Birmingham, following a game against Minor High School.
Officers were attempting to clear the stadium following the game when the altercation occurred with the Minor High School's band director, according to the Birmingham Police Department.
"Officers approached Minor High School's band director and then began asking him to get his band to stop performing," the department said in a statement. "Minor's band director did not comply with multiple officers' requests to stop his band from performing; he instructed his band to continue performing."
The nearly 8-minute video shows several officers approach the band director, Johnny Mims, as the band is performing. Mims repeatedly says, "Get out of my face," as officers tell him to tell the band to stop, the video shows.
"Cut it! We got to go," a sergeant says.
"I know. We're fixing to go. This is our last song," Mims says in response.
After an officer says something to the effect of Mims going to jail, Mims gives a thumbs up and says, "That's cool."
The band continues to play as officers order them to leave, and the sergeant yells to put Mims in handcuffs.
While attempting to handcuff the director after the band stopped performing, an officer can be heard saying, "I'm fixing to tase you."
Another officer says, "He hit the officer, he got to go to jail."
MORE: 12-year-old shot near high school football game in Baltimore
"I did not swing on the officer, man," Mims says in response.
While attempting to detain Mims, an officer deployed his stun gun on him three times, the video shows.
Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel treated Mims at the scene before officers transported him to a local hospital, per police protocol.
Upon being discharged, Mims was booked at the Birmingham City Jail on disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest charges early Friday. He was bonded out within hours, online jail records show. Police allege Mims refused to place his hands behind his back and pushed an officer during the altercation.
The incident remains under investigation by the Birmingham Police Department's Internal Affairs Division, a department spokesperson told ABC News on Tuesday.
The Birmingham police chief has met with the Birmingham mayor and superintendents from both school districts regarding the incident, a department spokesperson said upon releasing the footage.
MORE: Suspect arrested in connection with deadly shooting at Oklahoma high school football game
Mims' attorney, Juandalynn Givan, has called for the officers involved to be placed on administrative leave "until further investigation," adding the incident "highlights the urgent need for police reform, training and the protection of every citizen's rights."
"This incident is an alarming abuse of power and a clear violation of our client's civil rights," Givan, who is also a member of the Alabama House of Representatives, said in a statement. "It is unacceptable for law enforcement to engage in home rule in the field of play or with regard to band activities unless there is a significant threat to the safety of the general public. These matters should be addressed by school district administrators or other leaders with expertise to de-escalate situations like this."
Givan's office said they plan to pursue legal action and "seek damages for the pain and suffering endured by the band director."
Minor High School is in the Jefferson County school district. District leadership is currently reviewing the video, Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin said.
"My initial reaction is sadness," Gonsoulin said in a statement. "It’s extremely upsetting to me that our students, our children, had to witness that scene. Nothing is more important than their well-being."
Counselors have been made available to students, he said.
Gonsoulin added he is not commenting further pending the review of the incident.
veryGood! (3925)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- In U.S. Race to Reap Offshore Wind, Ambitions for Maryland Remain High
- What kind of perfectionist are you? Take this 7-question quiz to find out
- The EPA Once Said Fracking Did Not Cause Widespread Water Contamination. Not Anymore
- House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
- RHONJ: Teresa Giudice's Wedding Is More Over-the-Top and Dramatic Than We Imagined in Preview
- 16 Perfect Gifts For the Ultimate Bridgerton Fan
- Introducing Golden Bachelor: All the Details on the Franchise's Rosy New Installment
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Government Shutdown Raises Fears of Scientific Data Loss, Climate Research Delays
Ranking
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- A Year of Climate Change Evidence: Notes from a Science Reporter’s Journal
- What Ariana Madix's Vanderpump Rules Co-Stars Really Think of Her New Man Daniel Wai
- Kayaker in Washington's Olympic National Park presumed dead after fiancee tries in vain to save him
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- The Future of The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise Revealed
- Wegovy works. But here's what happens if you can't afford to keep taking the drug
- Permafrost Is Warming Around the Globe, Study Shows. That’s a Problem for Climate Change.
Recommendation
Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
Why Chris Pratt's Mother's Day Message to Katherine Schwarzenegger Is Sparking Debate
Fraud Plagues Major Solar Subsidy Program in China, Investigation Suggests
Keystone XL, Dakota Pipeline Green-Lighted in Trump Executive Actions
McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
Look Back on Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo's Cutest Family Photos
It’s ‘Going to End with Me’: The Fate of Gulf Fisheries in a Warming World
Keith Urban Accidentally Films Phoebe Bridgers and Bo Burnham Kissing at Taylor Swift's Concert