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Former Rock Hill officer not guilty on assault, battery charge after controversial arrest

By WSOCTV.com News Staff
By WSOCTV.com News Staff

ROCK HILL, S.C. — A jury, on Wednesday night, found former Rock Hill police officer Jonathan Moreno not guilty on a charge of third-degree assault and battery.

Moreno was fired and charged after the controversial arrest of Travis and Ricky Price in June 2021 that sparked protests in the South Carolina city.

The jury spent 10 hours deliberating the day after closing arguments were made Tuesday.

By late afternoon Wednesday, the jury of six people sent a note to the judge saying that they could not reach a unanimous decision.

After a brief discussion, the judge asked the jury to resume deliberations and return with a verdict.

Still without a verdict and a couple hours later, the judge asked the jury if they want to end deliberations for the day or have dinner ordered and continue. The jury asked for dinner.

About 7:15 p.m. a verdict was reached and the jury found Moreno not guilty in the case that sparked protests over the summer.

“There are so many ways to dissect that incident,” Moreno said. “So many ways. I think one of the biggest things that we need to do is those operations to take drugs and guns off the street, are great, but I think we need to increase our training working with one another so we’re all on one page,” Moreno said.

Price didn’t want to speak to Channel 9 on camera after the verdict was read, but his mother, Lila Mack, did.

“Nobody cared,” Mack said. “When are you gonna start caring for our people? And then, when are you gonna start caring for us? My son was beat down for no reason. No reason at all. He did nothing. They told him to go over there. And then he just came and threw him on the ground and they just kept beating him.”

On June 23rd, police pulled over Ricky Price and said they found a loaded gun and drugs in his car.

The situation turned when Ricky’s brother, Travis, arrived. Moreno said he didn’t know Travis had permission from other officers to collect his brother’s jewelry. Prosecutors said that’s when Moreno rushed over to confront Travis, assaulted him, then arrested him.

In body camera video released two weeks later, Moreno can be heard yelling, “Fight, fight. It’s just me and you, baby,” at Travis. Moreno can also be seen shoving him to the ground.

Charges of interfering with an arrest were dropped against Travis.

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In closing arguments on Tuesday, prosecutors argued a police officer’s use of force must be justified and Moreno’s actions were both unnecessary and illegal.

Upon cross examination, Moreno said he was attempting to use reverse psychology to get Travis to comply after the man resisted.

“When I got to his chest, he wasn’t trying to move,” Moreno told the the court. ”As you can see when I began to move him out of scene he’s gonna turn and immediately when he turns and I’ve already reached for his left wrist I have to grab his shirt, because I don’t know why he’s turning on me.”

Solicitor Kevin Brackett questioned why Moreno got physical with Travis at all, citing the Rock Hill Police Department’s policies that encourage de-escalation.

“Back up, back up! How hard would that have been?” Brackett asked Moreno.

“That’s not a common phrase that I use, I’m sorry,” Moreno replied.

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Moreno told Channel 9 in November that “the way it’s perceived on camera, I would definitely change decisions I made.”

On Monday, as the trial began. Travis testified in front of the jury. On the stand, Travis said Moreno’s approach was aggressive, unwarranted and eventually led officers taking him down to the ground.

“They were pushing me back. I wasn’t resisting. I wasn’t fighting. I was trying to tell them the guys over there gave me permission to get this stuff,” Travis said.

Prosecutors said the bottom line of the case is that “no one is above the law,” not even police officers. They said Moreno clearly assaulted Travis during the incident.

The defense said Moreno was trying to protect the scene and his fellow officers when he approached Travis that day.

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The defense called Moreno to take the stand, and he said he approached Travis to investigate just why he was on the scene, but claimed Travis pulled away, leading to the dramatic take down.

“I didn’t know who he was. I didn’t know why he was there. The only thing I was trying to do was what he was -- protecting my brothers and sisters,” Moreno said.

At one point, the defense asked the judge to dismiss the case due to insufficient evidence. The judge denied that motion.

(WATCH BELOW: Leaders call for unity in Rock Hill after week of protests)

Leaders call for unity in Rock Hill after week of protests

Statement from Justin Bamberg, attorney for Travis Price:

“While Travis Price is disappointed by this verdict, he respects the jury process. We appreciate the efforts of Kevin Brackett and the Solicitor’s office but we are concerned about many things that came to light during trial.

“Former Rock Hill police officer Jonathan Moreno admitted the official police report and use of force report were mostly inaccurate. Everyone testified that Travis was innocent, and that nobody escalated the situation that day aside from law enforcement. Given the high-profile nature of this incident, we can only imagine what might happen on a day-to-day basis with the Rock Hill Police Department regarding the truthfulness of their reports and record keeping.

“Our concern is that other citizens don’t suffer the same mistreatment that Travis Price endured. We will continue to fight for those who have been wrongly accused or subjected to excessive force and will push back against this department and any other who attempts to take advantage of those they are entrusted to protect and serve.

“We will continue to fight for Mr. Price through our civil action against the Rock Hill Police Dept. and Congressman Ralph Norman. With clear testimony that nothing that was said about Travis was true, we wonder how much longer it will take for them to do the right thing.”

Travis also sued the city of Rock Hill and U.S. Congressman Ralph Norman over the incident, claiming his reputation was ruined. The civil lawsuit claimed comments the congressman made on Facebook defamed Travis, including calling him a suspect. Travis’ attorney told Channel 9 Monday that he doesn’t believe the outcome of the trial will impact the civil suit.

“Accountability on the civil side is one thing. This is about someone who broke the law being held accountable under the system like anybody else,” Bamberg said.

(PREVIOUS: Trial starts for former Rock Hill officer who was charged after controversial arrest)

Trial starts for former Rock Hill officer who was charged after controversial arrest

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