As St. Patrick’s Day was celebrated with full excitement, an African- American University of Virginia student, Martese Johnson, was arrested for public intoxication and obstruction of justice. Through the process, Johnson’s head was bashed into the concrete by an alcohol control agent outside of the bar into which Johnson was denied access. This deepens the existing wound for excessive force on individuals during past arrests.

“Just before handcuffing him, police took Martese to the ground, striking his head on the pavement and causing him to bleed profusely from the gash on his head,” reports attorney Daniel Watkins.

The agency reports that before the arrest, individuals approached him and decided to proceed with further questioning based on previous observations. During a video captured of that night, it is evident that the agent is telling Johnson to stop fighting, but only displays what happened during that moment not before the arrest. Moments after, Martese’s wound was bleeding constantly and required ten stitches to initially close the wound. As fellow students stand by to witness, many are disturbed by what they could now not be able to un-see.

“For his face to literally be bashed in by concrete – there’s no words to describe that,” replied a protester.

A day after the incident, hundreds of UVA students gathered around to protest what events occurred that Tuesday night, showing support for their fellow classmate. When Johnson is thought of by his peers, violent would not be the word to describe him. As a junior, Johnson is double majoring in Italian and media studies, working toward a bright future after college and also holds many leadership positions on campus.

“Regardless of your personal opinions and the way you feel about subjects… please respect everyone here. We are one community, we deserve to respect each other, especially in times like this,” offered Johnson in a call for peace.

As the story continues to diffuse around the region, UVA President Teresa Sullivan contacted the governor’s office to ask for an additional investigation on what exactly happened. After hearing the news, Virginia Governor Terry Auliffe has called for a private investigation to determine whether the agents did use excessive force against Johnson or not. As the investigation is open, the agents involved in the arrest have been moved into administrative positions until the close of the investigation.

“Just seeing the blood run down that young man’s face, I wanted to know what happened,” Sullivan states to WTVR.

The university’s Black Student Alliance continues to work to receive justice for what happened to Johnson. Throughout the Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown incidents, the group also pushed for justice for the victims, but this creates a whole new scene. Being in their own community, it is seen as a duty to do all they can to provide support for Johnson.

“We have marched and shouted that we are Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, but the proximity of this morning’s brutality to a member of our community has deepened that wound,” announced the alliance.

       FSA Questions

1. In the article, the author uses the word brutality, which means what?
2. In the article, the author includes past events such as Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown. What do you predict will result because of this new incident?
3. Select the best two sentences from the story that support the idea of excessive force?
4. The author seems to offer what theme to the story?
5. Choose two sentences that support your answer from Question five.