Steve Burns
WMAL.com
Charlottesville — (WMAL) Prosecutors in Charlottesville had announced they’d drop charges against Martese Johnson, and at a community meeting today they’re going into their investigation.
“There is an articulable set of facts that logically led to reasonable belief that this is a fake ID,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney for Charlottesville Dave Chapman of Martese Johnson getting turned away at the entrance to a bar. “There is a basis in law and fact for these officers to move forward and inquire about that person.”
Chapman showed video of the ensuing altercation, which was missing just over six seconds of footage as officers and Johnson ended up on the ground. He said the video had not been altered as far as he or University Police could tell.
From an officer’s account, “Before we could safely escort him to the ground, the struggle caused all three of us to fall to the ground,” Chapman read.
From Johnson’s account, “he describes that he had put his ID away in his pocket, he was reaching for it, and then describes that he was slammed to the ground.”
Even if Johnson believed the stop by police was unwarranted, Chapman said it did not give Johnson the right to resist.
“Virginia law is abundantly clear on this point – you do not have the right to resist an unlawful detention,” Chapman said.
Prosecutors announced late last week they were dropping charges against Johnson, instead opting to hold what Chapman called a “community meeting” to discuss the investigation.
“Mr. Johnson could be prosecuted for the obstruction that occurred. What we’re saying is, that would be a bad idea. That would be inappropriate and wrong and we’re not going to do that,” Chapman said.
But on the other hand, Chapman said they were willing to prosecute officers as well.
“Had we thought for a moment that malice, that racial animosity, or intentional or reckless disregard of the authority of a sworn law enforcement officer existed, we would not have hesitated to prosecute anyone who was so involved.”
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