State: Throw out UVA student's lawsuit over bloody arrest
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control is asking a judge to throw out a $3 million civil lawsuit against it over the arrest of a University of Virginia student that sparked outrage when video of it surfaced in March.
Martese Johnson got a gash on his forehead during the arrest, and video of him bleeding in front of the Trinity Irish Pub in Charlottesville aquickly went viral.
The Daily Progress reports the state's ABC agency filed the motion Monday, asking the court to dismiss the suit from Johnson, who was arrested on St. Patrick's Day. Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) agents said Johnson was attempting to enter a bar with a fake ID.
Johnson says his ID was valid and he was not intoxicated during the bloody altercation. Charges of public intoxication and obstruction of justice against Johnson were later dropped. ABC says the lawsuit fails to state any claim against the defendants and says there was probable cause for the arrest.
Johnson brought the lawsuit last month, claiming that ABC officers were negligent and used excessive force. Johnson declined to charge the agents with a crime.
In their response, attorneys for the state agencyargue that Johnson was not slammed to the ground by the agents, but instead had a "sudden fall" while trying to free himself from the agents.
"[Johnson's] assessment that he was 'grabbed' and 'slammed' down is not supported by any objective facts and is simply inconsistent with the totality of the alleged facts and circumstances," the attorneys wrote.