Main Street board responds after Scuba Steve’s arrest at weekend festival
The Picayune Main Street Board met Thursday to discuss the arrest of a vendor, T-designer Steven Michaell Johnson, better known as “Scuba Steve.”
In the aftermath of the meeting, the Board issued a statement saying it was aware of an arrest during the festival last weekend.
The statement was released after the Board met Thursday afternoon.
Johnson’s attorney, Mitch Owen, said the Board had given Johnson permission to park inside the barricade because of the aftereffects of radiation that Johnson has experienced since his treatment for colorectal cancer.
In the statement, the Board said the incident involving Johnson “is strictly between the individual involved and the Picayune Police Department, and is entirely separate from Picayune Main Street as an organizationl.”
“We were not present during the incident, were not a party to the decisions made, and have no authority over the actions or outcomes involved..
“We respect both our vendor community and our local law enforcement, and we believe in allowing the legal process to work as it is designed to do. It would be inappropriate for us as an organization to comment on the specific details or circumstances of the incident.
“Picayune Main Street remains dedicated to providing a safe, positive, and welcoming environment for vendors, attendees, and the Picayune community as a whole. We look forward to continuing that tradition at future events”.
Johnson was arrested on April 12 after he falsely identified himself as a law enforcement officer when a Picayune police officer asked him to move his car from inside a barricaded area near his tent during the semi-annual Picayune Main Street Festival, Picayune Police Chief Joe Quave said.
In a police report, the police officer detailed his interaction with Johnson after approaching him inside a barricaded area near his tent at West Canal Street and Highway 11 about 10:15 a.m.
According to the report, the officer told Johnson to move his car, then approached another person parked inside the barricades to ask them to move their vehicle as well.
That’s the when the officer said Johnson walked over, told the officer he wasn’t going to move his car and accused the officer of being “on a power trip,” the report said.
Johnson then identified himself as a law enforcement officer and claimed to be on duty., the report 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.
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
Johnson’s attorney, Mitch Owen, described the incident as a “misunderstanding,” saying event organizers had given Johnson permission to park inside the barricades.
“The comments were made jokingly” Owen said, “and that is the basis of the charge.”
In response, Quave said, ““If that was the case, it sounds like a more logical thing to explain instead of having a conversation identifying himself as a police officer.”
Johnson is currently out of jail on a $5,000 bond.
An impersonation charge used to be a misdemeanor offense, but state lawmakers changed the law. In July, it became a felony offense that carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
The T-shirt designer shared his fight with colorectal cancer after his diagnosis in August 2015. He was declared cancer-free in 2017.
