UVA student Martese Johnson’s attorney says arrest was not justified

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Virginia state law enforcement have charged Martese Johnson, the UVA student whose arrest video went viral, with public intoxication even though they knew he was not drunk.

Martese Johnson’s attorney tells the Richmond Free Press instead, they believed he might be using a false ID, his lawyer Daniel Watkins has said.

A statement issued to the newspaper by Mr. Watkins’ law firm states: “We have already reviewed the reports from the arresting ABC agents and the local police on the scene, and our position remains that the (agents) lacked legal justification to arrest or brutalize young Martese.”

A State Police report has been completed on the controversial and bloody March 18 arrest of the 20-year-old, African American third-year student from Chicago that shocked the state.

Arrest

The case grabbed national attention after Mr. Johnson was injured by white Alcoholic Beverage Control agents during his arrest outside a pub in downtown Charlottesville.

He was slammed to the brick sidewalk by the ABC agents, and his head was gashed. Ten stitches were required to close his wound.

Witnesses and others at the scene have said that Mr. Johnson cooperated with the agents and showed them his ID before he was grabbed and slammed to the sidewalk.

Johnson was charged with public intoxication and obstruction of justice after state agents arrested him near popular campus hangout, The Trinity Irish Bar.

Martese Johnson’s attorney report

Both Johnson and Gray highlight persistent frictions between law enforcement and Blacks in cities around the country and have sparked ongoing protests that underscore the need for change in the criminal justice system.

The heavy detailed report is now in the hands of Dave Chapman, the Charlottesville commonwealth’s attorney.

Mr. Chapman is still studying the report and has not yet made the report public. Watkins says that he expects to review the file before Johnson’s court hearing on May 28.