UVA Honor Student Martese Johnson Arrest Sparks Outrage and Protests

The violent arrest of a black honor student at the University of Virgina has sparked an investigation while outraged students and community members demand answers into what happened that night. Martese Johnson was reportedly bloodied by officers Tuesday night for trying to enter a local pub with an alleged fake ID. His violent arrest was caught on video, uploaded to the internet, and it immediately went viral. Pictures of the incident also surfaced showing Johnson with a bloodied face as he’s being held down by the officer.

Martese Johnson, a third-year student at the university and a member of the Honor Committee and Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, was arrested around 12:45 a.m. on Mar. 18 in front of Trinity Irish Pub on the Corner.

Virginia’s governor has called for an investigation on Johnson’s arrest, in which his lawyer said he needed 10 stitches in his head.
Martese Johnson was charged with obstruction of justice without force, and public swearing or intoxication, Charlottesville General District Court records show.

The Alcoholic Beverage Control agent who made the arrest, listed in court records as J. Miller, said in the arrest report that Johnson “was very agitated and belligerent.”
Johnson was held at $1,500 bail with the specification he be released on an unsecured bond when sober. He was released at 6:01 a.m. Wednesday morning.
A statement from a group calling itself “Concerned Black Students,” however, claims the arrest of Johnson was unprovoked and extreme.
“The brutish force used resulted in his head and bodily injuries,” the group said in a statement. “His treatment was unprovoked as he did not resist questioning or arrest.”
On Wednesday night hundreds of students marched and protested, demanding justice.

A witness who spoke with Yahoo! News, told the site that Johnson’s arrest was unnecessary and he was able to photograph the arrest:

UVA student Bryan Beaubrun said  Johnson was trying to get into the Trinity Irish Pub when he was stopped by a bouncer. Then, an ABC officer grabbed Johnson by the arm and pulled him away from the bar to speak with a group of police officers, Beaubrun said.

After about a minute, Beaubrun said, Johnson asked the ABC officer to let go of his arm and tried pulling away from the officer. At that point, another ABC officer grabbed Johnson from behind and the two ABC officers wrestled Johnson to the ground, Beaubrun said.

He said Johnson hit his head on the ground when he was tackled and that police acted with unnecessary force.

“He didn’t need to be tackled. He wasn’t being aggressive at all,” Beaubrun said.

Johnson’s lawyer, Daniel P. Watkins, released a statement Wednesday night saying that Johnson “is absolutely devastated” by what happened. He described Johnson as a 20-year-old, third-year student at UVA who is majoring in Italian and Media Studies, holds “numerous leadership positions” at the school, and has no criminal record.

“We are preparing to investigate and defend this matter vigorously,” Watkins said.