WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Charlottesville, Virginia community should remain patient while the investigation into the violent arrest of African-American University of Virginia honors student Martese Johnson is underway, Virginia Public Safety and Homeland Security Secretary Brian Moran said.
“I’m here because we do have a concern and were taking this very seriously,” Moran sated at a town hall discussion at UVA on Friday.
"That's why we've immediately asked for an investigation to find out those facts. [S]o I've asked for patience for everyone to give time for the facts to be accumulated here and reviewed so that we can take the appropriate action if necessary, Moran added.
The 20-year-old Johnson appeared in a video posted online on Wednesday, detailing his arrest outside of a local bar where white police officers forced him to the ground while striking his head on the pavement and causing him to bleed profusely.
The video showed Johnson yelling “I go to UVA,” while the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control officers and a local policeman held him to the pavement. Later in the video, Johnson calls the officers “racists.”
On Thursday, the Virginia State Police announced that an administrative review and criminal investigation were underway to determine whether the officers who arrested Johnson complied with law enforcement guidelines.
During the UVA town hall meeting, a member of the audience expressed his concern that the Charlottesville community was turning into Ferguson, and said he was upset that panel members could not tell what exactly happened during Johnson’s arrest.
“We said we won't have a Ferguson here, we’re going to have a Ferguson here and it will be because of the laxity of all of us," the person said.
Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe ordered the State Police to launch an investigation into the incident.
Wednesday’s arrest follows several similar incidents over the past year that have taken the centre stage in the United States of seemingly race-related police brutality, causing widespread protests and debate on US police practices.
