UVA student faces court date alongside investigation into violent arrest
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Version 0 of 1. The University of Virginia student who was seen pinned to the ground with a bloody head wound during an arrest outside a bar last week will appear in court on Thursday morning – and will then meet with investigators probing the conduct of alcohol enforcement officers who detained him in the violent encounter. Martese Johnson, 20, intends to have a CT scan on his head at the University of Virginia (UVA) hospital, probably some time this week, in order to “ensure there has been no internal damage”, according to a statement from his lawyer’s office on Tuesday. Johnson visited a doctor at the weekend after the head injury he sustained while being arrested last week remained swollen. The third-year student at UVA will appear in Charlottesville general district court at 10am on Thursday to face charges of obstruction of justice and public intoxication. He intends to plead not guilty. Prosecutors will decide by the last week of May whether to continue to pursue the charges against Johnson, according to the office of the Commonwealth’s attorney on Tuesday. Sources at UVA indicated to the Guardian last week that there was work going on behind the scenes to have the charges against Johnson dropped. Johnson’s lawyer, Daniel Watkins, is in the process of interviewing friends of the student who were with him on the night he was arrested. Mobile phone video footage of Johnson pinned to the ground by three agents from the state alcohol beverage control department, with blood from a head wound pouring over his face and on to the pavement, went viral and sparked mass protests at UVA following the arrests shortly after midnight last Tuesday. Johnson repeatedly shouted to the officers that he attended the university and accused them of racism. Students across campus have raised their own concerns that there could have been a racial element to the arrest of Johnson, which most of those who spoke to the Guardian at the weekend said was a highly unusual occurrence along the popular strip of bars in Charlottesville. After the incident, the university asked Virginia’s governor, Terry McAuliffe, to investigate and he in turn asked the state police to conduct a probe. Following an expected brief court appearance by Johnson on Thursday morning, he plans to meet state investigators to give his version of how the arrest happened, and “otherwise cooperate with the investigation”, according to his lawyer’s office. Johnson was turned away from a bar on the popular strip opposite campus known as the Corner that was only admitting over-21s, and was then approached by ABC agents who arrested him. He suffered a head injury in the process that required 10 stitches and the university and bar staff have attested to his sobriety and courtesy in the moments leading up to the encounter, while the ABC officers said he was “belligerent”. On Tuesday, Johnson’s lawyer met with Allen Groves, dean of students at UVA, Marcus Martin, UVA vice-president and chief officer for diversity, and Kevin Badke, the owner of the Trinity Irish Pub, where Johnson was refused entry, and his lawyer. “They all have said the same thing: moments prior to what the now-viral video presents, Martese was polite and well-mannered,” said the statement from Watkins’ office. |