Current:Home > MarketsAlabama school band director says he was ‘just doing my job’ before police arrested him -Wealth Navigators Hub
Alabama school band director says he was ‘just doing my job’ before police arrested him
View
Date:2025-04-16 01:46:45
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama high school band director said Wednesday that he was just “doing my job” when police officers arrested him and shocked him with a stun gun after he refused to immediately stop the band as it played in the bleachers following a football game.
Johnny Mims, the band director at Minor High School, told The Associated Press he was confused when officers pulled him from the director’s podium to arrest him following last Thursday’s game between Minor and Jackson-Olin high schools.
“I was in shock. Just totally confused because I was pretty much doing my job, and I hadn’t done anything wrong. I definitely did not deserve to be Tased,” said Mims, who noted that he was shocked with the stun gun three times.
Police body camera footage released Monday shows Mims being arrested and repeatedly shocked in a chaotic scene that included students screaming. Police charged him with disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest.
In the body camera footage, officers are seen approaching Mims as the band plays in the stands. They ask him several times to stop the performance, saying it is time for everyone to leave the stadium since the game was over, and appear incredulous that Mims continues directing the band for another two minutes or so.
Mims said the band was doing what is sometimes called a fifth quarter show in which high school bands perform as attendees leave the stadium. “We were at the last half of our song,” he said.
As the music continues, an officer tells Mims he will go to jail and another says she will contact the school. Mims flashes two thumbs up and says, “That’s cool.”
“Put him in handcuffs,” an officer is later heard saying. The stadium lights are cut off shortly before the band finishes.
Mims said after the song ended that he was pulled from the director’s podium. Officers are seen in the video apparently trying to arrest him, in a scrum of bodies. Students can be heard screaming as the arrest plays out.
Mims said he was confused by what was happening.
Police said in a statement Friday that officers decided to take Mims into custody after the confrontation. They said Mims refused to put his hands behind his back and that the arresting officer said he was pushed by the band director, which led to the use of the stun gun. Mims was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and harassment.
Mims disputed the police claims that he pushed an officer. He said he is currently on administrative leave from the school system.
veryGood! (38)
Related
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Sam Asghari Responds to Claim He’s Threatening to Exploit Britney Spears Amid Divorce
- The Gaza Strip gets its first cat cafe, a cozy refuge from life under blockade
- 2 men arrested, accused of telemarketing fraud that cheated people of millions of dollars
- All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
- 2 Florida men sentenced to federal prison for participating in US Capitol riot
- Entire city forced to evacuate as Canada's wildfires get worse; US will see smoky air again
- Activists campaign for shackled elderly zoo elephants to be released in Vietnam
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Progress toward parity for women on movie screens has stalled, report finds
Ranking
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- Foes of Biden’s Climate Plan Sought a ‘New Solyndra,’ but They Have yet to Dig Up Scandal
- 23-year-old California TV producer dies falling 30 feet from banned rope swing
- Judge rules Florida law banning some Chinese property purchases can be enforced
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Standards Still Murky for Disposing Oilfield Wastewater in Texas Rivers
- Record heat boosting wildfire risk in Pacific Northwest
- Utah man shot by FBI brandished gun and frightened Google Fiber subcontractors in 2018, man says
Recommendation
How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
South Dakota state senator resigns and agrees to repay $500,000 in pandemic aid
Standards Still Murky for Disposing Oilfield Wastewater in Texas Rivers
Judge who signed Kansas newspaper search warrant had 2 DUI arrests, reports say
Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
When mortgage rates are too low to give up
The Killers booed in former Soviet republic of Georgia after bringing Russian fan onstage
Some Maui wildfire survivors hid in the ocean. Others ran from flames. Here's what it was like to escape.