was killed. there are new details concerning the arrest of university of virginia student martese johnson. arrest that left him bloodied and captured on video. an attorney says johnson intends to plead not guilty in court. the 20-year-old was arrested outside a bar in charlottesville. the bar owner says johnson was cordial after denied everyntry. virginia state police are investigating. utah s governor signing a bill to give the state a back-up plan for executions. the back-up plan firing squad. lawmakers approved the measure to okay death by firing squad if lethal injection drugs are not available. those drugs are in short supply nationwide. utah is the only state allowing that execution method.
i go to uva. those were the words university of virginia third year student martese johnson shouted as he was grabbed, thrown to the pavement and left with a bloody swollen face during an arrest by the alcohol and beverage control officers after midnight on wednesday. the cell phone footage was captured after the abc officers questioned, then detained johnson when he was denied entry into a bar that is frequented by uva students. johnson was charged with public intoxication, obstruction of justice and spent a night in jail. his attorney has denied earlier reports that he attempted to present a fake i.d. on thursday johnson, recovering from a head injury that recovers 10 stitches stood by silently as his lawyer read a statement on his behalf. i trust that the scars on my face and head will one day heal but the trauma from what the abc officers did yesterday will stay with me forever.
in this context it has been demonstrated clearly by the treatment of poor martese johnson of the abc board, the alcohol board of the state. they just regulate the sale of alcohol. this is not your traditional law enforcement entity. and yet they acted in a way that clearly demonstrated an excess with respect to law enforcement technique. i think the protection that one would have expected a student to have gotten from any state school or in any context like that would have been different from the experience of martese johnson. i think coming as it has in the aftermath of ferguson and the aftermath of the justice department s long overdue focus on police practices nationwide and the appointment of that task force on police practices, i think this is a serious issue that will require all campuses to look at their practices and how they police their student body. that s something that i think is long overdue as well. amer the last time i student
man who has been traumatized. at no time did he present a fake i.d. nevertheless virginia abc officers present on the scene questioned my client about being in possession of false identification. he s on the executive board of the black student alliance he was an orientation leader. reporter: in the two years she s known him, she says johnson has been nothing short of extraordinary on and off campus. he s very involved in issues relating to things. it s mind boggle thing happened to him. reporter: wednesday night, hundreds of supporters held a rally. he was there, too, after being release 8d from jail. regardless of your personal opinions and the way you feel about subjects please respect everyone. we re all part of one community. we deserve to respect each other, especially in times like this. reporter: the university of virginia president theresa sullivan asked the governor s office to launch an independent
20-year-old martese johnson being arrested by alcohol control agents for public intoxication allegedly on wednesday. the arrest warrant for johnson describes him as acting agitated and belligerent. johnson suffered a head injury during that arrest prompting some university of virginia students to protest the incident. nick valencia joins us now in charlottesville, virginia. what did you learn from the news conference? reporter: earlier this evening, martese johnson did make an appearance with his attorney who said his client has been traumatized by this event, that he didn t deserve this treatment. he also highlighted the endless ties to the university from being on the honor committee to being on the orientation council. he s one of the most prominent students here on campus and