AISD suspicious school bus suspect identified

UPDATE: 28-year-old John Mikel Humphries is in custody and is at the Travis County Jail.

 


 

On Thursday, investigators identified the man they say flagged down an AISD bus while claiming to be a law enforcement officer on Tuesday.

The man in the image released by AISD police is identified as 28 year old John Mikel Humphries.

Investigators say before he boarded a school bus Tuesday afternoon, claiming he was a law enforcement officer, Humphries allegedly tried to get the same bus to pull over after leaving Anderson High. 

The school district's transportation director praised his bus driver for staying calm during the incident. "I’m like, wow this thing could have been really disastrous for our employee,” said Kris Hafezizadeh, AISD Director of Pupil Transportation.

Humphries allegedly flashed his lights to get the bus to pull over.  AISD buses are equipped with two way radios, secret panic buttons and GPS tracking systems which are monitored by dispatchers.

FOX 7 has learned that the driver on Tuesday did not report the incident until after she returned to the transportation lot.  There was one student on the bus during the first encounter and only the driver when Humphries allegedly got on.

"When I watched the video I’m very proud of our driver, she asked for credentials and eventually about 2 minutes later this guy got off the bus and left the scene,” said Hafezizadeh.

School officials say the bus driver is not being punished for violating any policy but acknowledge an opportunity for a quick police response was missed.

As a result drivers are being reminded about how to react.

“When a guy like that is inside the bus that’s the last thing you want to do, you don’t want to call right in front of the guy, reporting him to police, that could trigger another serious situation, but when the person gets off the bus, when it’s all clear what we want out employees to call our dispatch right a way to report the situation,” said Hafezizadeh.

John Mikel Humphries has been arrested in the past by APDand authorities in Williamson County.

Court records show he's been charged four times with family violence. He has also been accused of interfering with an emergency call. He was also arrested for failing to stop after an accident. Records show Humphries lives in Leander, several miles away from the NW Austin neighborhood where he allegedly boarded the school bus.

On the same day of the bus boarding, there was a safety alert at Murchison Middle School which is not far from Anderson High. A man was spotted taking pictures of students using the crosswalk. Humphries has not been linked to that incident and school officials say the man may have been a parent.