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"The investigation found no evidence to support a claim of racial profiling or excessive use of force," the statement said. "The investigator did find that officers violated some department policies, and as a result of the outside investigation, three officers were disciplined, one officer and the sergeant received mandatory re-training and the sergeant received remedial supervisor training. The third officer later left the department."
Donovan Johnson was walking to his Somerville home from his job at a hospital in February 2021 when an Arlington police officer rushed up to him on the sidewalk and demanded he get on the ground, the Associate Press reported.
Johnson, scared and confused over the confrontation, hesitated. The officer then pointed his gun at the man, threw him on the ground, and drove his knee into the 20-year-old's back and neck, which cut off his ability to breathe, the report continued. This happened all while the alleged suspect apparently ran past Johnson and officers fixated their attention on him instead.
Johnson posted videos on Facebook of the stop after two more officers arrived to help put him in handcuffs. In the videos, he repeatedly tells them he did nothing wrong and begs them to stop. Johnson alleges in his lawsuit that one of the officers ripped Johnson's mask from his face and stuffed it into his mouth to stop his protests.
"I screamed I couldn’t breathe and for god for something to help," Johnson said on Facebook. "All while this was going on they put the kid who committed the crime in the cruiser and drove him to the station from what I believe."
The white Arlington police officer was chasing a white man on suspected charges of human trafficking and stealing TV from a Homewood Suites hotel, The Washington Post said. It's unclear why police thought Johnson was involved. Police drove him to the hotel where the staff said they'd never seen Johnson before, and officers set him free without a ride home, the Post wrote.
Johnson told the Associated Press that he suffered emotional damage from the incident, and it nearly ruined his life. He struggled to keep his job at the hospital he worked because of the stress, he said.
“The Arlington Police Department had no evidence that Mr. Johnson was involved in a crime, in fact to the contrary, witnesses informed the police that he was not involved,” Mirian Albert, one of Johnson’s lawyers, told The Washington Post. “Yet at the end of the day, he was humiliated and physically violated.”
While Johnson alleges racial bias, the Arlington Police Department said the officers were only doing their job. Police Chief Julie Flaherty said in a press release that the department hired an outside detective to investigate the encounter, and they found the officers violated department policies but did not violate anyone's rights.
Chief Flaherty said race was never a factor in Johnson's detainment, and her department has hired a lawyer to fight the suit.
"The Town of Arlington Police Department is committed to providing equal and fair justice to all its residents and visitors," Flaherty said in her statement. "It trains its staff to administer justice without regard to race and conducts ongoing training in diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
The statement didn't detail how details the officers' punishment. Flaherty added that the review recommended re-training officers and updating department policies. Steps she said she immediately implemented.
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