THOMASVILLE — Charges against Cairo High School’s director of bands have been dropped.

John L. Folsom Jr. was arrested Sept. 25 at Hugh Mills Stadium in Albany on the charge of simple battery against a police officer.

“The charge was dropped this week,” Dougherty County District Attorney Gregory W. Edwards said in a phone interview Thursday afternoon. “Looking at the whole incident and the circumstances, it was determined there was no criminal intent on the part of Mr. Folsom to assault the officer.”

Folsom, according to the incident report from the Dougherty County School System Police Department, yelled at persons on gate duty, instructed his assistants to enter the stadium despite directives to wait for a head count and grabbed an officer’s forearm “in an aggressive manner.”

He was arrested and taken to Dougherty County Jail, where he was later released on a $1,000 bond.

“There was no doubt he made contact with the officer,” Edwards said. “Any instance where a person puts hands on an officer in the performance of duty is likely to lead to an arrest. In this instance it was found the officer was justified in arresting him.”

Grady County Schools Superintendent Dr. Tommy Pharis said he is glad it worked out for Folsom and for the benefit of the school system.

“I’m glad we can put this behind us,” he said.

Pharis said no disciplinary action was taken.

“We’re guided by Professional Standards Commission rules. Based upon the nature of the offense, if there is an arrest of an employee, sure, the board would consider disciplinary action if it was an offense we believe warranted some sort of action.

“In this case there was a charge of simple battery and that is a fairly serious charge, but, based upon what I knew of what happened, I saw no reason for him not to continue working because it had nothing to do with his relationship with the kids.

“As it turned out, the board made the right decision as the charges were dropped.”