WASHINGTON — Statistics released in a new report Sunday reveal that Virginia’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agents are arresting people for more than just alcohol-related crimes.
The Washington Post took a look at the stats obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request following the bloody arrest of a University of Virginia student this month. Martese Johnson, 20, received 10 stitches in his head after his arrest for public drunkenness or swearing and resisting arrest without force on March 18. Police say he was trying to get into a popular Irish pub adjacent to campus.
Johnson pleaded not-guilty to the charges, and his court case is continued until May while the state can investigate the incident. Since a video of the arrest went viral, Gov. Terry McAuliffe has ordered all of Virginia’s 130 ABC officers to undergo retraining in the use of force, cultural diversity and interaction with young people, according to The Washington Post.
Unlike alcohol regulators in Maryland and the District of Columbia, the Virginia’s have the power to arrest people for all laws under the Commonwealth, and according to the statistics, they often do. About 20 percent of the arrests ABC agents made in 2014 involved charges that have no direct connection to alcohol.
According to the statistics, ABC officers charged 1,157 people with 1,394 crimes after their arrests in 2014. Of those, 89 percent were alcohol-related, with the rest being for drugs and theft and two for child abuse or neglect.
The charges Johnson are facing right now are still relatively rare: of all charges in 2014, only six were for resisting arrest, assault on law enforcement officials or obstruction of justice.
The ABC agency has declined to comment in the Johnson case until an independent Virginia State Police review is completed.
According to The Post, some 397 people were charged with illegally buying alcohol in 2014, with 343 of those related to purchases by people younger than 21. The remaining 54 were for the use of fake IDs or for adults buying alcohol for underage people. On the other end, 377 people were busted for selling alcohol to underage people and 783 administrative charges were logged against bars and restaurants that failed to comply with state alcohol sales restrictions in 2014.
