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Tased and arrested by Birmingham police
- According to Business Insider, Johnny Mims, the director of the Minor High School band, was tased and arrested by Birmingham police after he told his musicians to keep playing after cops told him to stop. On Sept. 14, Mims and his band were playing at a high school football game between Minor High School and Jackson-Olin High School.
newsone.com/4721652/johnny-mims-black-band-director-tased-and-arrested/Black Band Director Tased And Arrested After H.S ... - NewsOne
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Sep 19, 2023 · Johnny Mims and his school band were wrapping up their last song when Birmingham police insisted the performance stop immediately. The confrontation ended with Mims tased in front of...
- 8 min
- Juliana Kim
- Overview
- What happened after the football game?
- What's next in Mims' case?
Alabama high school band director Johnny Mims spoke out Wednesday after being shocked repeatedly with a taser and arrested by Birmingham police at a football game last week in an incident that has since gained national attention.
Authorities said they took Mims into custody when he refused to direct his students to stop playing music after a game, despite their orders. But an attorney now representing the director is arguing that officers' use of force to detain him was excessive and unwarranted, and traumatized more than 100 students who witnessed the confrontation.
The band director, Johnny Mims, has retained a legal team that is pledging to take action against the Birmingham Police Department, which released body camera footage of the incident on Tuesday.
Juandalynn Givan, an attorney representing Mims, has alleged that the footage they chose to share publicly leaves out key details about how the incident unfolded, and said Wednesday that additional unreleased footage would support the legal team's accusations that police used excessive force to detain the band director. Givan said she intends to release that additional footage.
"I should have never been tased," Mims said at a news conference Wednesday morning with his legal team and leadership from the Alabama Education Association. "It was excessive, and no educator should ever have to experience that, but I definitely don't want anyone to lose sight of the students who were caught in the middle of this. They are the most important thing."
Mims, who directs the band at Minor High School in Adamsville, a Birmingham suburb, led the band's performance Thursday on the bleachers at P.D. Jackson-Olin High School, where both football teams had recently finished a game. Both the Minor and Jackson-Olin high school bands continued to play after the game in what is known as the "fifth quarter," Givan said in a statement to CBS News on Tuesday. The "fifth quarter" is a marching band tradition usually seen at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, where students continue to play music after a game ends.
In the body camera footage released Tuesday, which police said begins 18 minutes after the end of the football game, an officer wearing the camera crosses the football field and steps up onto the bleachers, where students are seen standing and playing music.
When the officer addresses Mims, he continues to conduct the band. "Get out of my face," he tells the officer several times.
"I've got my troops coming," the officer says. The officer then instructs Mims to stop the students playing and tells Mims, "You will go to jail," to which Mims replies, "That's cool."
Another woman in the video gives similar instructions to Mims to stop the band and warns that she will call the superintendent.
Footage shows the scene quickly devolve. The stadium lights turn off as an altercation ensues between Mims and at least two police officers, one of whom is wearing the camera. People crowd around them and many are heard screaming. Officers physically restrain Mims and are in the process of handcuffing him when one says, "He hit the officer, he got to go to jail." Mims denies hitting the officer. Givan said that additional body camera footage supports his claim.
"I'm now in possession of that footage," Givan said. "You will see that my client never strike or attempted to strike a Birmingham police officer."
At Wednesday's news conference, Givan called on the city attorney in Birmingham to drop all charges brought against Mims, while Theron Stokes, the associate executive director and lead attorney at the Alabama Education Association, called for his reinstatement on staff at Minor High School. Mims has been placed on administrative leave while Jefferson County Schools pursues its own investigation into the incident. CBS News contacted the school district for more information but did not receive an immediate reply.
Givan and Stokes called the actions by Birmingham officers after the football game "excessive" and "unnecessary, " saying the police department uses stun guns that are particularly powerful and Mims needed medical evaluation after being shocked. The attorney argued that the excalating scene traumatized students who witnessed it.
Stokes pointed out that shutting off the stadium lights actually made it more difficult to safely clear the venue.
"We appreciate the police department, we respect them. But by the same token their officers must operate in an efficient and safe manner," he said. "If the intention was to protect students at the football game, why would the lights be turned off in there? Why would you allow persons to be trying to exit a stadium in the dark? That is just not justifiable in this situation."
Givan said the legal team has begun gathering evidence for Mims' case and submitted a notice of appearance on his behalf to Birmingham Minicipal Court.
"The objective is not only to seek damages for the pain and suffering endured by the band director, but also to shed light on the systemic issues within law enforcement and advocate for change," Givan said in an earlier statement, calling the incident "an alarming abuse of power and a clear violation of our client's civil rights."
- emilymae.czachor@paramount.com
- Emily Mae Czachor
- 1 min
Dec 11, 2023 · The attorney for Minor High School band director Johnny Mims said Monday he will be returning to work. Mims’ attorney, state Rep. Juandalynn Givan, said Monday that Mims will resume...
Sep 21, 2023 · The Alabama band director who was shocked by a police stun gun and arrested after refusing to stop his band’s performance at a high school football game said the post-game songs had been...
- 4 min
- Lauren Mascarenhas,Melissa Alonso
Sep 21, 2023 · The police use of force Thursday against Alabama high school band director Johnny Mims is sending ripples across the nation. Video of the incident after a football game shows police...
- 8 min
- Amna Nawaz,Shoshana Dubnow
Sep 19, 2023 · Johnny Mims, Minor High School’s band director since 2018, was arrested Thursday night by Birmingham police after officers ordered the band to leave mid-song following a game at...
Sep 19, 2023 · Alabama high school band director Johnny Mims denied swinging at an officer during the arrest. He is charged with disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest.
