ROCK HILL, S.C. — The trial for Jonathan Moreno, a former Rock Hill police officer who was charged with assault for his role during the controversial arrest of two brothers last summer, began Monday.
Moreno was charged with third-degree assault and battery in connection with the arrests of Ricky Price and Travis Price on June 23. Moreno was fired and charged more than two weeks after the incident, which went viral on social media thanks to videos recorded of the encounter.
Ricky Price was driving when he was stopped by Rock Hill police officers for allegedly making an illegal turn. Police said he had drugs in the car, along with a firearm he was legally barred from owning. His brother, Travis, was called to the scene to gather belongings from Ricky. Bodycam video released by Rock Hill investigators showed Moreno, seemingly unaware that Travis Price was standing where he'd been told to by other officers, confronting Price and pushing him to the ground before placing him under arrest.
The incident sparked several nights of protests in Rock Hill with groups demanding accountability for the violent arrest.
Groups such as the NAACP demanded the release of police body camera footage showing the arrest of the two men.
Jurors were told Monday they would be given three sources of video showing the incident. Those would include the gas station surveillance video, bodycam footage, and a video shot by a bystander.
"This should not have happened. This was not good police work," Kevin Barckett, the solicitor for the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit representing York and Union counties in South Carolina, said. "Police have the power to use force when it's necessary. But what happened to Travis Price was wrong."
During opening arguments, Moreno's lawyer said they had evidence that he was innocent of the assault charge against Price.
"Once you see everything and hear everything, you'll say that Jonathan Moreno is a scapegoat," Moreno's attorney said.
Moreno testified that he was familiar with Ricky Price, who was known to him as a "drug dealer" with a "history of fighting police." Price said on June 23, officers were conducting drug operations in Rock Hill. In their original public statements about the incident, police said that Ricky Price had drugs and a loaded gun on him when he was pulled over.
Moreno said he was not familiar with Travis Price, Ricky's brother with no criminal record. Travis Price told the courtroom he stopped at the scene when he saw that his brother was being arrested. Travis Price maintains he received permission from police officers to take his brother's personal belongings.
Moreno testified he did not know other officers on the scene gave Travis permission to take Ricky’s jewelry, which is not standard procedure.
"It’s very common for people to deceive us. To say, 'Hey, I got permission. Hey, they told me to come here,' and it’s a complete lie. So I can’t trust that at the very moment," Moreno testified. "All I can do is preserve the scene and keep us all safe."
"My only mindset is making sure I control this individual's hands," Moreno said of Travis Price. "Because I don’t know what he has in them. I don’t know what he has retrieved already. I don’t even know how he got there.”
Travis Price took the stand Monday for questioning from the prosecution and the defense. During his testimony, Price identified Moreno as the officer who assaulted him. Price told the jury he didn't fight or resist Moreno during the encounter.
"You can see I never resisted. You can see that," Price said.
Under questioning by the defense, Price said he didn't think Moreno could have perceived him as a threat. Price told the jury he had his hands in the air when Moreno shoved him.
Last July, the City of Rock Hill apologized to Travis Price and announced the charge of hindering police was dropped; however, in October, the city said it still found Price "negligent" for his actions.
During Monday's hearing in court, Price said Moreno's public apology meant something but said he and his children still have to live with what happened that day.
The city's apology and statement were made after Price filed a lawsuit against the city. Justin Bamberg, Price's attorney, called the incident a "textbook case of defamation."
In a response to the lawsuit dated Oct. 12, the City of Rock Hill denies multiple claims made on behalf of Price and his lawyer. Among their responses, the city argues the original arrest was "lawful."
To further dispute those claims,David Morrison, the lawyer representing the city said, wrote:
"To the extent the Complaint purports to allege a claim or claims against this Defendant for negligence, carelessness, gross negligence, recklessness, willfulness or wantonness, any injuries and damages to Plaintiff were proximately and solely caused by Plaintiff’s own negligent, careless, grossly negligent, reckless, willful and wanton conduct or were contributorily caused by his actions, so that the Plaintiff’s claims should be barred in their entirety or the damages reduced under the doctrine of comparative negligence."
Despite Bamberg's claim that the city defamed his client, the city's attorney writes, "[Travis Price] purposely injected himself into the public eye, was a public figure."
Contact Richard DeVayne at rdevayne@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.