The Minor High School marching performs in 2022 (YouTube screengrab via R. Moore Media). Inset: Johnny Mims booking photo (via Birmingham (Ala.) Police Department).
Police used a stun gun on a high school band director and arrested him after he allegedly refused to tell his band to quit playing as police cleared spectators from a football game at a Birmingham, Alabama, high school last week.
Johnny Mims, 39, was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct, harassment of a sports official, and resisting arrest, per public arrest records and a press release from the Birmingham Police Department.
A department spokesman said any time force comes into play while officers conduct an arrest, an investigation is opened. Additionally, records show Mims posted bail and was released from police custody the same night of his arrest.
Mims, a band director at Minor High School, was arrested on Sept. 15 following a football game between Minor and nearby Jackson-Olin High School. Police reported that Mims ignored an officer who ordered him to have his students stop performing as authorities cleared out arena for the night. Police also said student band members had stopped playing when they initially made the order but Mims told them to keep going.
The disorderly conduct charge was prompted when Mims allegedly shoved an officer and refused to place his hands behind his back. After being shocked with the stun gun, police said Mims was treated by a paramedic, sent to an area hospital and then placed under arrest once approved to leave the hospital’s care.
Jefferson County School Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin issued a statement after Mims’ arrest saying that an investigation into exactly what occurred is still ongoing.
“I am in the process of gathering all the facts and feel it would be inappropriate to comment further until that process is complete,” Gonsoulin said. “I urge everyone not to jump to conclusions.”
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