UVA student Martese Johnson was arrested last St. Patrick’s Day outside of Trinity Irish Pub in Charlottesville after trying to use a fake ID. CavalierDaily.com reports the scene:
Johnson was arrested on charges of resisting arrest, obstructing justice without threats of force, and profane swearing or intoxication in public. The arresting officer was Alcohol and Beverage Control special agent J. Miller.
Miller noted on the arrest record that Johnson “was very agitated and belligerent but [has] no previous criminal history.”
In the course of the arrest, Johnson sustained a head injury requiring 10 stitches.
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.
It doesn’t take a genius to see that this scene is pretty brutal. There’s a whole lotta blood leaking down his face and we’re not the only ones who feel this way. The Black Dot, a student advocacy group, released the photo you see above and released a statement to CavalierDaily.
An email from Black Dot, signed by “Concerned Black Students,” said the arrest was unprovoked as Johnson was not resisting questioning or arrest. The email included a photo of Johnson bleeding while being held outside Trinity.
“Outside of the doors of Trinity Irish Pub, a mass of University students bore witness to the officer’s animalistic, insensitive, and brute handling of Martese,” the email said. “He was left with his blood splattered on the pavement of University Avenue.”
The email asks for a “swift and thorough investigation on the state, local and University levels.”
Here’s a video from the scene that was also recorded.
In response to the arrest and alleged police brutality, the Black Dot organized a community rally attended by hundreds of students, faculty members, and locals. Johnson while declining to speak to reporters, had this to say to those in attendance.
“This University opened me up,” Johnson said. “You being here is the reason why I still believe in the community of trust even with a busted head standing here on this stage.”