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Virginia governor orders retraining for law enforcement after student's arrest Supporters of UVA student Martese Johnson pack courtroom
(about 1 hour later)
Virginia’s governor, Terry McAuliffe, has issued an executive order mandating that state alcoholic beverage control enforcement agents be retrained in the wake of the violent arrest of university student Martese Johnson – who is appearing in court on Thursday charged with resisting arrest and public drunkenness. Supporters of University of Virginia student Martese Johnson packed the district court in Charlottesville on Thursday morning for his first appearance to face charges since a violent arrest that left him bloodied a week ago.
More friends and supporters gathered outside to greet the 20-year-old as he arrived to make a very brief appearance in court, during which his next court date was set for 28 May.
Related: UVA student faces court date alongside investigation into violent arrestRelated: UVA student faces court date alongside investigation into violent arrest
In swift action just a week after the event that occurred outside the University of Virginia (UVA) campus in Charlottesville, McAuliffe signed an executive order on Wednesday that is due to go into effect immediately and requires all such agents to be retrained by 1 September. Up to 150 supporters, dressed in black, crowded into Charlottesville general district court to bolster Johnson, according to a local report.
State alcoholic beverage control (ABC) officers arrested Johnson, 20, close to the UVA grounds after he was turned away from a bar that was only admitting over-21s. Johnson ended up on the ground with blood gushing down his face from a head wound, in a scene that was captured on mobile phone video and went viral, sparking mass protests on campus and prompting the governor to order a state police investigation. Prosecutors had indicated they would seek a delay in the case until the state police completed the investigation they are conducting into Johnson’s arrest at the request of Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe.
Johnson appeared at the courthouse in a dark suit and red tie and accompanied by his lawyer, Daniel Watkins. The injuries from his arrest in the early hours of last Wednesday were still visible, though much healed from their swollen and bruised appearance the day after he was detained and needed 10 stitches to his head as a result.
Video of Johnson being arrested outside a bar near the university campus show him gushing blood from a head wound while photographs of him sitting on the tailgate of a police van after his arrest show that he was put in ankle shackles with his hands cuffed behind his back. He spent the rest of the night behind bars.
There have been calls for alcohol beverage control agents to be stripped of their arrest powers, and McAuliffe has issued an executive order mandating re-training for all ABC officers.
McAuliffe signed an executive order on Wednesday that is due to go into effect immediately and requires all such agents to be retrained by 1 September.
In addition to the investigation, which is expected to continue until late May, McAuliffe issued an executive order that ABC enforcement agents must be retrained in the use of force and in matters of cultural diversity and how they interact with young people.In addition to the investigation, which is expected to continue until late May, McAuliffe issued an executive order that ABC enforcement agents must be retrained in the use of force and in matters of cultural diversity and how they interact with young people.
The order also gives universities and police departments in Virginia more oversight of the agents assigned to college towns.The order also gives universities and police departments in Virginia more oversight of the agents assigned to college towns.
Related: University of Virginia student 'unbowed' after arrest that left him bloodied
The order has the goal of “improving collaboration, communication and delineation of expectations regarding enforcement activities performed by ABC special agents in these communities”, according to a statement from McAuliffe’s office.The order has the goal of “improving collaboration, communication and delineation of expectations regarding enforcement activities performed by ABC special agents in these communities”, according to a statement from McAuliffe’s office.
It is common for the strip of popular bars next to campus known as “the corner”, and the nearby university fraternity houses to be patrolled by four sets of security personnel, from the state ABC department, the Charlottesville town police department, the UVA campus police team and a private security firm. It is common for the strip of popular bars next to campus known as “the corner”, and the nearby university fraternity houses to be patrolled by four sets of security personnel, from the state alcohol beverage control (ABC) department, the Charlottesville town police department, the UVA campus police team and a private security firm.
Virginia has 120 ABC enforcement agents operating across the state. A spokeswoman for the agency, Kathleen Shaw, said the ABC department will “certainly implement the governor’s executive order”.Virginia has 120 ABC enforcement agents operating across the state. A spokeswoman for the agency, Kathleen Shaw, said the ABC department will “certainly implement the governor’s executive order”.
She said that improvements in training were already under way and was working to develop additional steps “to meet the requirements” of the governor.She said that improvements in training were already under way and was working to develop additional steps “to meet the requirements” of the governor.
Johnson plans to plead not guilty in court on Thursday and later meet with state police investigators probing the circumstances of his arrest in the early hours of last Wednesday on a night when the corner was packed with revellers celebrating St Patrick’s Day. UVA ex-student Elizabeth Daly, who settled a lawsuit against the state after ABC officers arrested her in a violent encounter almost two years ago, issued a statement calling for the report of the state investigation into her case to be made public.
“It truly saddens and upsets me that anyone, not just a UVA student, would be treated the way Martese Johnson was by ABC agents,” she said.
Related: University of Virginia student 'unbowed' after arrest that left him bloodied
She called for a “proper legislative review” and efforts to measure the agency’s “seriousness” in implementing reforms, demanding that the government force the agency to make public what corrective measures were taken against the officers involved in her case in 2013.
Daly’s car was surrounded by ABC officers in plain clothes, at least one waving a gun, who tried to smash her window and eventually arrested her on suspicion of buying beer while underage - when she had in fact been buying water. She also spent a night in jail and later filed a lawsuit, which she settled for more than $220,000 last year.
ABC officers arrested Johnson, 20, close to the UVA grounds after he was turned away from a bar that was only admitting over-21s on St Patrick’s Day. Johnson ended up on the ground with blood gushing down his face from a head wound, in a scene that was captured on cellphone video and went viral, sparking mass protests on campus and prompting the governor to order a state police investigation.