CCSO: Father disrupted graduation by threatening fight

PORT CHARLOTTE — Charlotte County Sheriff’s deputies arrested an Orange County man for allegedly starting a fight during the Charlotte High School graduation ceremony Thursday.

Authorities allege a deputy aimed his Taser at the suspect when it appeared he was going to start a scuffle outside the event.

Haakim Amir Johnson, 36, was charged with one count each of resisting arrest without violence and conspiring to interfere with an educational process.

According to his arrest report, Johnson was attending the Charlotte High ceremony on Thursday at Charlotte Sports Park.

Around 7:30 p.m., Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office deputies and a Punta Gorda Police officer reported seeing a “loud disturbance” in the stadium’s upper seats section.

The report indicates two men were found to be “screaming in one another’s face,” with deputies determining Johnson was the primary aggressor.

Johnson was escorted to the stadium’s main gate. According to the deputies, he did not elaborate on who he was fighting with or why. He agreed to wait by his car for his family members after the ceremony.

Once the ceremony was done, however, Johnson was seen yelling at another man who exited the stadium.

The report alleges Johnson began running at the other man with closed fists. At that point, a deputy aimed a Taser at him, with the “dots” of the device’s aim being visible on Johnson.

At that point, he stopped moving forward and was placed in handcuffs by deputies.

Johnson was allowed to have his personal property handed over to a relative after a post-arrest search and then taken to Charlotte County Jail. He was released on $650 total bond.

His next court appearance is scheduled for June 5.