In most instances, when the police ask you to do something, you comply. This is why the following story is so troubling. A band director in Alabama was not only tased but also arrested at a high school football game. The police asked him to stop the musical performance. Instead, he told his students to continue playing.
That’s a direct violation.
And yet, if you read the many comments pouring in from this story, people are shocked and appalled that the band director was arrested.
Realistically, though, did they have much choice when the director was clearly ignoring their requests?
Read on so you can decide whether the police did the right thing or not…
The band was performing last Thursday night at game between Minor High School and Jackson-Olin High School.
The police arrived on the scene and were trying to clear out the stadium in a safe manner. They needed the band to stop playing so that they could get people out and communicate without having the sound of the music interfere.
The police report posted to X states that the band director, Johnny Mims, refused to comply. He, instead, instructed the kids to keep playing.
The police told Mims to put his hands behind his back. Instead, he escalated the situation by pushing an officer, which led to him being tased.
Mims was then taken to the hospital following the tase, follo0wed by a trip to the Birmingham City Jail.
While Mims has been released on bond, there are charges for disorderly conduct, harassment, as well as resisting arrest.
Walter Gonsoulin, the school’s superintendent, simply said, “I urge everyone not to jump to conclusions. I am in the process of gathering all the facts, and feel it would be inappropriate to comment further until that process is complete.”
Perhaps Gonsoulin is trying to figure out what the rest of us are – why Mims felt the need to ignore the requests from the police.
The investigation is still going on.
