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| Charges against Virginia student injured in violent arrest expected to be dropped | Charges against Virginia student injured in violent arrest expected to be dropped |
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| Criminal charges against a University of Virginia student who was injured in a violent arrest at a bar in March are expected to be dropped on Friday morning, the Guardian has learned. | Criminal charges against a University of Virginia student who was injured in a violent arrest at a bar in March are expected to be dropped on Friday morning, the Guardian has learned. |
| Martese Johnson’s arrest was filmed on another student’s cellphone, after Johnson was stopped by alcohol beverage control (ABC) agents on 17 March. Blood poured down his face while officers handcuffed him as he lay prone. | Martese Johnson’s arrest was filmed on another student’s cellphone, after Johnson was stopped by alcohol beverage control (ABC) agents on 17 March. Blood poured down his face while officers handcuffed him as he lay prone. |
| The footage, which showed Johnson yelling to the officers as they restrained him that he attended the university and that they were being racist, went viral. | The footage, which showed Johnson yelling to the officers as they restrained him that he attended the university and that they were being racist, went viral. |
| Johnson is black and the officers who arrested him are white. The incident became part of the national debate on race and the use of force by the police, whichhas been raging since an unarmed teenager, Michael Brown, was shot dead by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014. | Johnson is black and the officers who arrested him are white. The incident became part of the national debate on race and the use of force by the police, whichhas been raging since an unarmed teenager, Michael Brown, was shot dead by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, in August 2014. |
| Hundreds of students protested on campus, drawing comment from the college president, Teresa Sullivan, and the Virginia governor, Terry McAuliffe, ordered a review and retraining for state alcohol enforcement officers. | |
| Johnson, who was underage, was detained after a dispute about whether he used a fake ID to get into a bar on a strip opposite the UVA campus in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident was considered unusual, despite a boisterous bar life off campus. | Johnson, who was underage, was detained after a dispute about whether he used a fake ID to get into a bar on a strip opposite the UVA campus in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident was considered unusual, despite a boisterous bar life off campus. |
| The 17-year-old was handcuffed and shackled at the ankles and bundled into a police van. He was later taken to hospital, where he had stitches and staples put in a deep gash in his head and was treated for cuts and bruises to his head and face. | The 17-year-old was handcuffed and shackled at the ankles and bundled into a police van. He was later taken to hospital, where he had stitches and staples put in a deep gash in his head and was treated for cuts and bruises to his head and face. |
| He was charged with public drunkenness and obstruction of justice and appeared in court later that month. | He was charged with public drunkenness and obstruction of justice and appeared in court later that month. |
| On Friday morning, he is due in court with his lawyer, Daniel Watkins of the law firm Williams Mullen, based in Richmond, Virginia. The prosecution is expected to announce that it will no longer pursue the charges. | On Friday morning, he is due in court with his lawyer, Daniel Watkins of the law firm Williams Mullen, based in Richmond, Virginia. The prosecution is expected to announce that it will no longer pursue the charges. |
| Johnson was not available for comment on Thursday and Williams Mullen declined to issue a comment. But a source familiar with the case confirmed that it is understood the charges will be dropped. | Johnson was not available for comment on Thursday and Williams Mullen declined to issue a comment. But a source familiar with the case confirmed that it is understood the charges will be dropped. |
| A spokesman for McAuliffe said that the governor’s review of the ABC agency was ongoing. | A spokesman for McAuliffe said that the governor’s review of the ABC agency was ongoing. |