High school band director hit with stun gun, arrested after refusing to end performance

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — After Birmingham police said he wouldn’t tell his band to stop playing, an Alabama high school band director was shocked with a stun gun and arrested.

According to local news outlets, Minor High School’s band director was arrested Thursday night following a football game between Minor and Jackson-Olin High School. He faces charges of disorderly conduct, harassment, and resisting arrest.

According to Birmingham Police Officer Truman Fitzgerald, a department spokesperson, police were attempting to clear the stadium at Jackson-Olin following the game and had asked both bands to stop playing so people wouldn’t linger.

According to police, the Jackson-Olin band stopped performing, but the director ignored officers and told his students to keep playing.

Fitzgerald said that when police officers and school security guards arrived to arrest him for disorderly conduct, he got into a fight with them. He claimed the band director shoved an officer and refused to put his hands behind his back. With a stun gun, one of the officers shocked the band director.

Fitzgerald stated that paramedics treated the band director and transported him to a hospital for evaluation. He was later arrested and released after posting bail.

Jefferson County School Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin said Friday that he is gathering information and will not comment further for the time being. “I urge everyone not to jump to conclusions,” said Gonsoulin.

The Internal Affairs Division of the Birmingham Police Department investigates all incidents in which an officer uses force during an arrest.