Moreover, I don't get the correlation--fight(s) with non-band members; cops that can't hear; high school band playing louder than FAMU, Southern or Norfolk State in the 5th Quarter; band director arrested because he would not stop students performance in outdoor football stadium. The entire city should be marching against this injustice to Mr. Smart.
One question for the cops? How did you hear on your radios when the stadium was full with 10,000 screaming fans in the stands and both bands were playing during the game? Wasn't the decibels 1000X louder then, than when Mr. Smart was arrested. Case closed!
By PETER DUJARDIN
Hampton High's Tory F. Smart is on administrative leave after his arrest for failing to stop playing.
Photo: Band Director Tory F. SmartHAMPTON -Even after Phoebus High School beat rival Hampton High School on the football field late Friday night, the bands were still going at it.
But as people filed out of Darling Stadium by the thousands at about 9:30 p.m., several fights broke out. Police, trying to quell the disturbances, were having a hard time hearing each other on their radios. So they asked both bands — on opposite sides of the stands, going back and forth in a traditional, competitive duel — to stop the music.
While the Phoebus band eventually stopped playing, police say, Hampton High School's band played on — to the point that officers at the game arrested Hampton High's band director, Tory F. Smart, on an obstruction charge. Police said he ignored "at least four" demands to stop.
Smart, 31, a band teacher at the school in addition to his director role, is on paid administrative leave as school investigators try to piece together what happened in the bizarre twist capping the greatly anticipated game between two undefeated rivals.
A few officers, police say, asked Smart to cut his band's music.
"He was asked directly to stop playing, and disregarded the officers' orders," said Hampton police spokeswoman Paula Ensley.
"The last time, he was told, 'If you don't stop you'll be arrested for obstruction.' And he continued to play, after which time he was taken into custody."
But Alfred L. Davis Jr., the band director at Hampton University who has worked closely with Smart in the past, said he thinks the incident was the result of miscommunication between Smart and the police.
"I've known Tory for a long time," Davis said. "He was great as my assistant. This comes as a shock to me ... He is an outstanding person."
Though Davis did not witness the arrest, he said police must have simply overreacted to the misunderstanding. "I'm very sure that's what happened," Davis said.
Ensley said there were 40 officers assigned to the game, which had 10,000 spectators. "We needed to get everyone out safely," she said, saying Smart understood the police orders, but decided to keep his band playing.
Sam McGill, who provided some security services at the game, said he was on the Phoebus side of the stadium, so didn't see Smart get arrested. But when he drove his truck out of the stadium, he said, he saw Smart seated on a chair, surrounded by police officers, with his band gone.
Smart was transported away in a police car, but released on a summons to appear in court at a later date.
He did not return several phone calls left on his home and cell phone Monday morning and afternoon.
He is on administrative leave with pay from Hampton High School pending the outcome of the investigation, said School Department spokeswoman Ann Stephens. Obstruction is a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Smart, who was hired at Hampton High School in July 2006 as both band director and a teacher of band classes, is the son of former Hampton University band director Barney E. Smart, who died in 2004 after leading the university's band for 14 years.
The younger Smart, a percussionist by expertise, worked as the assistant band director at Delaware State University under Davis. Smart was also a graduate assistant for Hampton University's band, also under Davis.
In an interview before a game this month against Heritage High School at Darling Stadium, Smart said he has tried to bring some pizazz to the band since he arrived at Hampton High School just over two years ago.
"The main thing I wanted to do was add a little excitement," he said Oct. 5. "When I first got here morale was a little low. And music seems to make the world go 'round, and makes everybody feel good ... so we wanted to give the kids an opportunity to play the songs they wanted to do and add a little music education into it at the same time."
He likened the band's combination to a "home-cooked meal ... Everybody likes what we're cooking. Right now it smells good, but you can always add a little spice with it."
As for his philosophy about the battle of the bands between schools, he said: "We're going to give everybody a run for their money ... As long as they do it with respect and making it fun, that's what it's all about."
Asked what was in store for the game against Phoebus, Smart said: "A surprise."
What happened
When a fight broke out after Friday night's football game between Phoebus and Hampton, police asked both bands to stop playing. Hampton's band continued to play on despite repeated demands, police said, and the director, Tory F. Smart, was arrested and charged with obstruction. He is on paid administrative leave.
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