The Virginia State Police has completed its investigation into Martese Johnson’s March 18 arrest and has compiled a report, which is currently under review by the Commonwealth’s Attorney office. The report has not yet been made available to any other parties, including Johnson’s lawyer Daniel Watkins.
Watkin’s law firm, Williams Mullen, has released a statement in response to the end of the investigation and to the reports made by the local police and Alcoholic Beverage Control law enforcement:
“Daniel Watkins expects to be given access to the materials in the next couple of weeks,” the statement read. “We have already reviewed the reports from the arresting ABC agents and the local police on the scene and our position remains that the police lacked justification to arrest or brutalize young Martese.”
Reports previously circulated among news outlets claiming Watkins said Johnson was falsely charged were inaccurate. Caitlin Coakley Beckner, communications specialist at Williams Mullen, said the information originally reported by the Richmond Free Press, was “incorrect.”
“The state police report has not been released to us yet, and so the statement that was released by Daniel and the firm is speaking to what we have seen from reviewing local police reports as well as the ABC agents who arrested him,” Beckner said. “We have made no statement that the charges were false, only that there was no justification for the brutal treatment of Martese.”
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