Spurred by the violent arrest of a black college student by white Alcoholic Beverage Control police officers, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order Wednesday that aims to reform the state agency's law enforcement arm, reports the Washington Post. The executive order, effective immediately, requires that by Sept. 1 all ABC special agents be retrained in the use of force and in cultural diversity and interaction with young people.
It also gives universities and local police departments more oversight of ABC special agents assigned to college towns, “with the goal of improving collaboration, communication and delineation of expectations regarding enforcement activities performed by ABC special agents in these communities.” The order came a week after University of Virginia junior Martese Johnson was bloodied in an altercation with white ABC special agents in Charlottesville on St. Patrick's Day. Johnson, 20, received 10 stitches to his head after the arrest, which followed his unsuccessful attempt to enter an Irish bar adjacent to campus.