An Alabama high school band director was tasered and arrested after he failed to stop the band from playing after a high school football game, according to police.
The Birmingham Police Department (BPD) said the incident occurred Thursday night during a football game between Jackson-Olin High School and Little High School on the former’s field.
The arrested director is Jonny Mims, who took over the role in 2018, the Birmingham News reported.
A statement released by BPD on Friday, Sept. 15, said officers were clearing the stadium after the game when they noticed bands from both schools were still performing.
Officials then spoke with both directors and asked that the performance end so students and other attendees could leave.
BPD said the Jackson-Olin band director stopped playing, but the Minor High School band director did not stop playing.
“The Minor’s band director failed to comply with requests from multiple officers to stop his band from performing,” a BPD spokesperson said in a statement. [instead] He instructed his band to continue performing.
“A BPD officer was one of the officers who attempted to get the band director to stop his band from performing. During the officer’s interaction with the minor’s band director, the decision was made to take him into custody.
“When a physical altercation occurred between the band director, Birmingham City School System security personnel and BPD officers, the BPD officers attempted to detain the band director for disorderly conduct.”
The statement continued: “During the physical altercation, the BPD officer attempted to get the band director to put his hands behind his back, but he refused. The arresting officer claimed the band director pushed him during the arrest. The arresting officer then restrained the band director.” The director used A Taser ended the physical altercation. “
Following his arrest, Birmingham Fire and Rescue personnel treated the band director at the stadium before police followed standard procedure and took him to a nearby hospital.
When the bandleader was released from the hospital, he was taken to Birmingham City Jail where he was booked and later released on bail.
Police provided information about the case to the Birmingham District Judge’s Office and obtained an arrest warrant for disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest.
Weekly newspaper BPD has been contacted via email for comment.
The use of a Taser can have adverse effects on some people’s health and, in some cases, can be fatal.
According to 2019 Reuters The report said 1,081 people have died from Taser use in the country, with nearly all of the deaths occurring since the hardware became widely available in the early 2000s.
“In many of these cases, a Taser fires a pair of stinging darts that deliver a paralyzing electrical charge and is combined with other forces, such as hand strikes or restraints,” the report said.
