Martese Johnson, the University of Virginia student whose bloody arrest by Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agents in March made national headlines, filed a civil rights lawsuit alleging excessive force in federal court on Tuesday.
The 21-year-old honors student is suing the ABC, Department Director Shawn Walker, and the three agents he said wrestled him to the ground outside a Charlottesville bar on March 18 and caused him to bleed profusely from a wound after he struck his head on the pavement.
In his lawsuit, Johnson alleges the agents unlawfully detained and arrested him and used excessive force. The student, who was 20 at the time of the arrest, listed Walker and the ABC as defendants because of what he said were "pervasive and unchecked unlawful practices encouraged and knowingly overlooked by the department."
In August, an internal ABC review cleared the agents of any professional wrongdoing and reinstated them to active duty. The department did not release the names of the agents, nor the report into their conduct, citing a state law that prohibits the disclosure of personnel files.
But Johnson's lawsuit Tuesday named the agents as Jared Miller, Thomas Custer, and John Cielakie.
According to his lawsuit, Johnson tried to enter Trinity Irish Pub by presenting his valid I.D., as state law permits people under 21 to enter bars. When questioned by the bouncer, he says he inadvertently provided the zip code of his mother's former address in Chicago and was denied entry.
Johnson, who says he was not intoxicated nor acting belligerent, was then allegedly grabbed on the arm from behind by Miller, who did not identify himself as an ABC agent, and told to present his "fake" ID.
"As Martese continued to try to reach his identification card and to explain the situation to the Agents, all of a sudden, and without provocation, Custer and Miller slammed Martese into the brick walkway, face first, causing Martese to suffer a severe laceration to his forehead and scalp," the lawsuit alleges.
Cielakie, according to the suit, then helped handcuff Johnson, who was taken to hospital to receive medical treatment.
In June, prosecutors declined to press any charges against Johnson, stating he “was not in fact committing a criminal offense” when he was approached by the ABC officers.
Johnson's arrest was one of a number of high-profile incidents involving allegations of brutality shown by police or officials to black men.
Footage from the arrest, in which Johnson can be heard screaming “I go to UVA!” and “How did this happen, you fucking racists,” circulated widely, prompting Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe to order state police to conduct an independent review of the actions of the ABC officers.
McAuliffe also ordered law enforcement training in the department be improved. “Recent events involving special agents of the [ABC] in Charlottesville have underscored longstanding concerns about the agency’s Bureau of Law Enforcement,” McAuliffe said, “and exposed the need for more extensive training and oversight.”
"Martese’s bloody arrest captured national attention and sparked an intensive review of law enforcement policies, procedures, and training," his lawyer, Daniel P. Watkins, said in a statement Tuesday.
Writing for Vanity Fair last month, Johnson said he will most likely retain physical scars on his head for the rest of his life. "I know that if my head hit the pavement differently that night, I could be dead," he wrote.
"The officers’ actions may not have been premeditated that night, but I do believe they were calculated," Johnson wrote. "Why would I be subjected to such violence when so many other students in similar circumstances—so many other students that same night—were left alone?"
