ROCK HILL, S.C. — A lawsuit filed against the city of Rock Hill over a controversial 2021 arrest has now been settled.
Attorneys for Travis Price announced Wednesday evening the civil suit had been settled for $500,000. Justin Bamberg, a state representative in the South Carolina General Assembly and one of Price's lawyers, said this is one of the largest settlements of its kind with the city.
The settlement was reached on Tuesday, Oct. 31.
Bamberg and fellow attorney Christy Fargnoli said in a statement "Travis Price is pleased to have resolved this incredibly unfortunate situation with the city of Rock Hill. Mr. Price is a father of three and a family man whose reputation was unduly impacted following the incident by statements put out by the city of Rock Hill. He was innocent and this settlement will allow him to move forward and continue to work hard to provide for his family. Mr. Price's motivation for filing a lawsuit was to ensure that no other innocent person has their reputation smeared by a city or police department. We are confident that that message will be delivered loud and clear today."
WCNC Charlotte has reached out to the city's attorney for comment.
The civil suit claimed the city was negligent in how it approached the situation, from Price's arrest to police narratives about what happened. Bamberg noted Price is a father of three children and had no previous criminal record. The suit also claimed U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, who represents Rock Hill in Congress, made a statement on his own Facebook page that lambasted Price and his attorneys. However, Norman would end up amending his statement once more details were shared, including the firing of the officer accused of slamming Price to the ground and choking him.
Price and his attorneys claimed in their case against the city that Jonathan Moreno, an officer with the Rock Hill Police Department, slammed Price to the ground at a gas station on June 23, 2021. Price also said Moreno had choked him during the encounter. Police had pulled over his brother, Ricky Price, for a traffic violation earlier at the station and Travis Price eventually showed up to the scene wondering what was going on.
Bamberg and his team would share the gas station surveillance footage in a news briefing that summer, lambasting an earlier narrative shared by the police department that characterized Price as "belligerent".
While the city of Rock Hill did initially apologize, it still said Travis Price was "negligent" in its own filing in the case. However, Moreno would eventually be fired by Rock Hill Police and charged with assaulting Price. The announcement of Moreno's firing and arrest came on the same day that the York County Solicitor's Office released the body camera footage from several officers' perspectives, along with previously seen videos shared on Facebook that sparked the initial public outrage.
During the press conference announcing Moreno's arrest and criminal charges, the department notably changed its tone on Price; while the department previously said he intentionally shoved officers, a spokesperson confirmed he had already been talking with another officer about how to handle his brother's possessions and was complying with instructions initially given to him.
Charges against Price would eventually be dropped.
While Moreno did face a trial, a jury found him not guilty of misdemeanor assault in January 2022. Bamberg, the attorney for Price, shared at the time that he was disappointed with the verdict and that Moreno had admitted the official police report and use of force report were "mostly inaccurate". He also said everyone had testified to Price's innocence.