Controversial arrest captured on video of UVA student follows an earlier case
A video of a bloodied and beaten University of Virginia honors student being arrested for public intoxication and obstruction sparked renewed outrage and protests of excessive force at the hands of police. The latest incident, which happened at 12:45 a.m. Wednesday during St. Patrick’s Day celebrating, follows an earlier case in which another UVA student was confronted by armed state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents after buying a case of LaCroix sparking water.
The state is investigating whether excessive force was used on Martese Johnson, whose scalp and face were visibly bloodied in a booking photo, after he was refused entry to a Charlottesville bar early Wednesday and arrested by ABC agents, reports ABC News. Observers are questioning whether the fact that Johnson is black played a role in state ABC agents’ handling of his arrest.
Race, however, was not a factor in an unrelated 2013 incident concerning another UVA student that resulted in a substantial settlement. Elizabeth Daly, who said she is a teetotaller, settled for $212,500 last year her claim that angry ABC agents maliciously arrested her and jailed her overnight after she didn’t immediately recognize them as law enforcement officers, according to ABC News and the Daily Progress.
In the suit, Daly said she was terrorized when plainclothes officers surrounded her car, beat on the windows and pointed a gun at her, in the mistaken belief that a case of canned sparkling water she purchased at a Charlottesville market was a case of beer. Her complaint alleged that ABC agents weren’t properly trained, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported at the time. It asserted claims of assault and battery and malicious prosecution, and alleged that she suffered from anxiety and post-traumatic stress syndrome following her arrest.
Unsure whether the plainclothes officers were in fact law enforcement, Daly dialed 911, handed her cellphone to a friend in the car with her during the April 11, 2013 incident and drove off, the article explained. Daly intended to drive to a police station. Once the ABC officers’ role was confirmed, she stopped and was arrested. Daly, who was underage at the time, clearly had not purchased alcohol. But she was jailed overnight for allegedly assaulting two ABC agents and failing to stop initially. The charges later were dropped and Daly’s record was expunged.
Related coverage:
Cavalier Daily: “University student, Honor Committee member Martese Johnson arrested”
