What began as a routine band performance of Talkin’ Out the Side of Your Neck by Cameo at an Alabama high school football game ended in a troubling confrontation when a police officer tased the marching band director for refusing to stop the music.

The altercation occurred Thursday around 9 p.m. local time after a game at Jackson-Olin High School in Birmingham, Ala.

Minor High School band director Johnny Mims, 39, and his ensemble of 145 students were about a minute away from being done with their final song when a police officer approached the podium. According to both Mims and the Birmingham Police Department, officers asked Mims to stop the performance so they could clear out the stadium. Mims responded that the song was about to end and the performance was agreed on by both schools.

“Nothing we were doing at the time was being a danger to the community, fans or the school,” Mims told NPR on Monday. “Everyone was enjoying themselves. That’s the part I’m having a hard time grappling with.”

As the students finished their performance, officers attempted to arrest Mims for not complying. Police said the band director “refused” to place his hands behind his back and allegedly pushed an arresting officer.

  • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
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    1 year ago

    arrested not for breaking any law, but for ‘not complying’ where the office had no real reason to order anyone to do anything… and then charged with resisting.

    the usa sucks.

    • Wrench@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The officer captured on his own camera that his reason for the arrest was “he was disrespectful”

      Yep. Says it all.

      • jonne@infosec.pub
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        1 year ago

        Hey now, at least he didn’t say uppity. Because you know that’s what he wanted to say.

    • Neato@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      I don’t think that was a lawful order, anyways. And police have absolutely no authority to command citizens for anything but lawful orders.

      • Aidinthel@reddthat.com
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        1 year ago

        Except in the sense that they have weapons and are rarely punished for using them. There’s what the law says and then there’s the reality that if some cop gives you an order you have to choose between obeying and betting your life he’s not going to escalate.

    • treefrog@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      He was black, in public, and not licking a pigs boot. In Alabama.

      Racist cop tazes black teacher. Would have been my pick for a headline.

    • Th4tGuyII@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      Of course he broke the law - he hurt the officer’s feelings. That’s the worst law you can possibly break! /s

      But seriously though. Cops got butthurt, and so they aggravated the situation, and used the fact that the poor man panicked when being manhandled as the reason to arrest him in the first place. What kind of circular reasoning bullshit is that??

      • originalucifer@moist.catsweat.com
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        1 year ago

        the poor man panicked when being manhandled as the reason to arrest him in the first place

        this is a primary tactic of all police in the united states. all of them.

        i would assume its part of the pathetic training they receive which includes things like ‘most cops will die on the job, the public is trying to kill you 100% of the time’