Scuba Steve arrested after interaction with police. Here’s what each side says
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Steven Michael Johnson, a T-shirt designer called 'Scuba Steve', was arrested.
- Picayune police say Johnson said he left his badge and credentials at home when asked.
- Gulfport police took him into custody on a Picayune warrant and he was released on bond.
Steven Michael Johnson, better known as T-shirt designer “Scuba Steve” on Facebook, is out of jail on bond following his arrest on a warrant charging him with felony impersonation of an officer, Picayune Police Chief Joe Quave said.
Johnson is accused of falsely identifying himself as a law enforcement officer when a Picayune police officer asked him to move his car during the semiannual Picayune Main Street Festival on Sunday, Quave said.
“He was asked to show his badge and credentials, and he said he left them at home, and then walked off,” Quave said.
The police chief said officers investigated the claim and determined Johnson had lied about being in law enforcement, leading to a warrant for his arrest.
“It’s not uncommon for us to ask people to move things around,” Quave said. “He was requested to move his vehicle from inside a barricaded area.”
Quave said police take such claims seriously.
“When you claim you are an officer when you are not, that is not a good option to take,” Quave said. “It’s rare, but it has happened where people have impersonated officers and approached others while not in law enforcement.”
Johnson said he was advised not to comment and referred calls to his attorney, Mitch Owen.
Owen called the incident “a very unfortunate circumstance.”
“We refute the charge adamantly,” he said. “He was given special permission by event organizers to park next to his tent inside the barricade because he gets sick from the aftereffects of radiation.”
Owen said it was his understanding “that police were even told that.”
“The comments were made jokingly” Owen said, “and that is the basis of the charge.”
Gulfport police took Johnson into custody on a warrant out of Picayune on the felony charge. He has since been released on a $5,000 bond.
The T-shirt designer is a South Mississippi icon who shared his fight with colorectal cancer after his diagnosis in August 2015. He was declared cancer-free in 2017.
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 5:23 PM.
