Report: Officers didn't believe Martese Johnson was drunk, still arrested him

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

The story of University of Virginia honor student Martese Johnson caught headlines after an image circulated of Johnson after police pushed him to the ground.

Johnson had a large gash on his head that required ten stitches to close, and he sat covered in his blood in the picture.

Now, a State Police report has been completed, and it seems that the police who arrested Johnson did not believe he was intoxicated, though that was the reason they gave for his arrest, reports the Richmond Free Press.

Johnson’s attorney, Daniel Watkins, issued a statement that read:

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.

Johnson was charged with public intoxication and obstruction of justice without force after ABC agents pulled him aside to see if he had a fake ID (he did not). However, witnesses at the scene maintained that Johnson cooperated with the officers and showed them his ID and that he was unnecessarily slammed into the sidewalk.

Following the outrage that came with Johnson’s viral image of police brutality, Gov. Terry McAuliffe ordered the state police to conduct the investigation and further ordered changes in policy and in training for ABC agents.