Current Events > High school band director tased, arrested for refusing to stop band playing

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https://apnews.com/article/alabama-birmingham-band-director-tased-arrested-d5700475e63b76272caa5fd64d641cd2

An Alabama high school band director was shocked with a stun gun and arrested after Birmingham police said he wouldnt tell his band to stop playing.

Local news outlets report that Minor High Schools band director was arrested Thursday night after a football game between Minor and Jackson-Olin High School. Hes charged with disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest.

Birmingham Police Officer Truman Fitzgerald, a department spokesperson, said police were trying to clear the stadium at Jackson-Olin after the game and asked both bands to stop playing so people wouldnt linger.

Police say the Jackson-Olin band stopped performing, but that the director disregarded officers and told his students to keep playing.

Police officers accompanied by school security guards went to arrest him for disorderly conduct but he got into a scuffle with them, Fitzgerald said. He said the band director refused to place his hands behind his back and shoved an officer. One of the officers shocked the band director with a stun gun.

Paramedics treated the band director and took him to a hospital to be checked out, Fitzgerald said. He was later booked into jail and released after posting bail.

Jefferson County School Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin said Friday that hes gathering facts and declined further comment for now. I urge everyone not to jump to conclusions, Gonsoulin said.

The Birmingham Police Departments Internal Affairs Division investigates all incidents where an officer uses force during an arrest.

High school football is the most srs of bznis

I thought this was America

Sounds like American Pie

why did that director care that much? Just stop. Everyone could go home sooner even. I'd be happy to not have to play anymore

Bandleader should've instructed the band to play the Star Spangled Banner and see if the cops would dare to interrupt such a patriotic song.

"Why were the police trying to clear the stadium after the game" is the obvious first question that comes to mind.

If the bands were scheduled to do post-game, let them fucking do it and get their set done. If you don't want post-game anymore, you tell the directors before it's happening.

I wonder what the final score was.

I don't know any more than anyone else on this but it sounds like some people down there are taking a high school football rivalry too goddamn seriously.

So a school band continues to play?

It's not hurting people. No one is at risk of harm. It absolutely does not merit the use of a fucking taser.

Typical cop escalation of a harmless event via their 'do what I say, or I will use disproportionate violence to prevent loss of face' attitude.

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With zero evidence, I get the feeling the band leader was trying to "rub it in" over something. Still, that's no justification for what he got IMO. There was no imminent threat to public safety from what the article says.

They arrested him for "disorderly conduct" aka directing the band at a venue specifically intended for the band to play at.

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That was my assumption. You're correct, the article doesn't say it.

Maybe the song was really awful

https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/what-johnny-mims-do-incident-explored-minor-high-school-band-director-arrested-football-game

Apparently the bands were trying to outplay one another at the same time, which is chaotic as hell, but not a crime.

But this is still a weird "why were the police insistent on clearing out the stadium" situation.

CyricZ posted...

https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/what-johnny-mims-do-incident-explored-minor-high-school-band-director-arrested-football-game

Apparently the bands were trying to outplay one another at the same time, which is chaotic as hell, but not a crime.

But this is still a weird "why were the police insistent on clearing out the stadium" situation.

I tend to lean that way too. Sounds like an impromptu "Battle of the Bands" situation that apparently got out of hand, but nothing worth what happened. There had to be a better way to handle this.

Zikten posted...

why did that director care that much? Just stop. Everyone could go home sooner even. I'd be happy to not have to play anymore

If nobody showed up they wouldn't have to go home at all

brestugo posted...

I tend to lean that way too. Sounds like an impromptu "Battle of the Bands" situation that apparently got out of hand, but nothing worth what happened. There had to be a better way to handle this.

They should have let it play out.
This is a sport whose half-time show is the most exciting part after all.

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Yeah, the incident is a nothingburger but I do think the response was "overpolicing". There had to be a better way to resolve that.

I also wonder who won the game, and if a "sore loser" somewhere (band leader or cop) isn't the real cause here.

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That's really odd. I've been to my share of HS football games (in HS) and never heard of anything like that. Unless there was some kind of threat outside the field (unfortunately possible) people should be allowed to leave. This story will have legs.

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It's disrespecting the military, or something.

Typical escalation. Totally fucked. Just cause u want to go home RIGHT NOW doesn't mean u can taze ppl

Robot2600 posted...

Typical escalation. Totally fucked. Just cause u want to go home RIGHT NOW doesn't mean u can taze ppl

You're right. 10 years ago, "community policing" was the catchphrase. Now it's "de-escalation". Where TF was the de-escalation here? We went from a band playing past someone's expectation to a scuffle, tasing and arrest in what was probably minutes.

I just don't think there should have been a confrontation here at all. A band playing "too long" after a football game doesn't merit the response it got.

Did the players try to take the field when the marching band refused to yield?

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If there is a school band that play with such intensity that the only reasonable response would be cops and tasers, please let me know where I can get tickets.

Ive been doing a deep dive on this. I guess the bands were still playing an hour after the game had already ended. All the lights were off and they were just flat out refusing to leave. All stadiums and arenas have a cut off time that goes with local ordnance or state law. I guess the stadium is located inside of a residential neighborhood.

Theres a video under the channel black news network on YT that shows the actual tasing at the 5:00 minute mark. I would post it but mods dont tolerate any violence on video. He does clearly shove the officers, thats up to you whether you determine if that justifies a tasing

I thought we weren't allowed to make "band" topics anymore.

High school band is really important

ai123 posted...

If there is a school band that play with such intensity that the only reasonable response would be cops and tasers, please let me know where I can get tickets.

Yeah, call the principal or whoever you have to call short of law enforcement. I don't know how Alabama works, but they should have points of contact for these type of events. I'd try that avenue first. He answers to someone as band director.

Just seemed like a gross overreaction, IMO.

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Is this a joke? No answers to those questions would merit police intervention, including asking police to do so. What law is being broken exactly?

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Swatting is all fun and games till someone gets hurt

Two high school bands playing together is hell on earth. The kind of dissonance that gives your soul cancer.

brestugo posted...

police were trying to clear the stadium at Jackson-Olin after the game and asked both bands to stop playing so people wouldnt linger.

Isn't football really big in the south? Was there just so much traffic that it made sense to have police there to help direct it?

MisterPengy posted...

Isn't football really big in the south? Was there just so much traffic that it made sense to have police there to help direct it?

There has been a steady uptick of after game fights and violence for school games. It's becoming more and more common for schools to request police help I'm clearing after game crowds.

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Calling the cops put everyones lives at risk, in America.
They're poorly disciplined and heavily armed.

Fair, next.

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Yeah, the cops deserve the benefit of the doubt here because cops are never aggressive for no reason.

(I am being extremely sarcastic.)

CyricZ posted...

But this is still a weird "why were the police insistent on clearing out the stadium" situation.

How about "why were police even there in the first place?"

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That is very much not what you wrote. It was the article shows the cops being very aggressive with 0 context, which almost makes me think the cops are in the right. Thats the bit I was referring to, because thats a wild conclusion to come to.