Minor High School band director Johnny Mims would not have been tased at a recent football game if the incident happened at a majority white school, according to his attorney, State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (D-Birmingham).
The Birmingham Police Department (BPD) released body cam footage Monday night of an officer deploying a Taser against Mims before his arrest and subsequent criminal charging.
Mims, 39, currently faces disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest charges.
BPD said Mims did not comply with multiple officers' requests to stop his band from performing; he instructed his band to continue performing. One BPD officer can be heard on the body cam video saying Mims tried to punch an officer.
According to WVTM 13, Givan said at a press conference hosted by the Alabama Education Association (AEA) on Wednesday that the incident would not have happened at a majority-white school.
"This wouldn't have happened in Mountain Brook. It wouldn't have happened in Hoover. It wouldn't have happened in Vestavia or Homewood," Givan said. "This would dare not have happened at a majority-white school in the state of Alabama that you would see a black police officer tasing anyone on those campuses and everyone in this room knows that. It wouldn't have happened. You couldn't have paid them. I don't care if the kids never left the field. I don't care if the conductor continued to conduct all night. They would not have said one single thing. But you would dare tase a black man in a black school within the city of Birmingham which is a majority-black city, it's okay? No ma'am. It's not okay, and that is why this story has gone viral. That is why the national media is concerned because they've never witnessed anything like this."
Mims has been placed on administrative leave, and AEA is requesting that he be allowed to go back to work. The AEA is also asking for the officers to be held accountable. Mims is an AEA member, and the AEA legal department is also working on his case, according to WVTM 13.
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