Federal judge recommends that SC Congressman Norman remain part of defamation lawsuit
A federal magistrate judge has ruled a lawsuit will continue against the city of Rock Hill and a U.S. Congressman from South Carolina who was sued over his Facebook comments after a controversial 2021 arrest, documents show.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Shiva Hodges recommended late Wednesday that the lawsuit by Travis Price against U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., and the city of Rock Hill would continue, according to a court order.
Hodges wrote in the order that Price has sufficiently pleaded a claim for defamation against Norman and the city. No trial date has been set.
Price claims in the lawsuit he was unjustly arrested and subjected to excessive force by the Rock Hill Police Department in June 2021. The night of the arrest, the police department issued a public statement that Price was at fault. Norman subsequently posted on his Facebook page what Price claims is defamatory information.
The charges against Price were dropped days after his arrest. Price filed the defamation and civil rights lawsuit in August 2021.
The controversial arrest on June 23 brought in question a Rock Hill police officer’s use of force. That officer was later fired and faced criminal charges. A jury later found the officer not guilty.
Norman is a Rock Hill native and resident who represents South Carolina’s Fifth Congressional district.
Norman’s lawyers claimed in court filings that Norman should be immune from being sued because of his status as a congressman. The lawyers also said the postings came from information first published by the city.
However, Hodges stated in the recommendation that Norman does not have immunity.
The city has denied wrongdoing in the incident, court documents show.
Price’s lawyer, Justin Bamberg, said Hodges’ recommendation will now be reviewed by a higher federal judge to see if the ruling stands.
Lawyers for Norman have two weeks to file objections to the Hodges’ recommendation.
Norman’s office has said he and the office will not comment on the lawsuit while litigation is pending. Norman is represented by lawyers from the U.S. House of Representatives general counsel’s office in Washington, D.C., according to court records.
The recommendation
Hodges wrote in her recommendation that the city issued an official written statement indicating that Price had been noncompliant, beligerant, and physically combative.
She cited the June 23 Rock Hill Police Department statement, which said:
“Officers began searching (Ricky) Price when his brother, Travis Price, arrived on scene and approached Officers. Travis Price attempted to gather the belongings Officers were removing from Ricky’s person and was told to move back. Travis then used his body to bump the Officers backward as he continued trying to get near his brother to reach for the belongings while yelling belligerently. Travis was forced back and told he was under arrest for interfering, and physically contacting officers. Travis shoved Officers, refusing to comply with orders to place his hands behind his back. Officers pushed Travis against a large tank located behind him, telling him to put his hands behind his back. Travis continued his non-compliance and Officers began struggling with Travis. While attempting to gain control of Travis, Officers and Travis went to the ground.”
The lawsuit claims Norman published statements on June 24, on his Facebook page. In that posting, Norman stated his support for police.
“Umm, I’m sorry, but you don’t get to take swings at officers,” the Norman Facebook statement said, according to the federal lawsuit. “You don’t get to be non-compliant with their lawful orders. And you don’t get the luxury of resisting or evading arrest.”
Norman wrote an update to the Facebook post On July 15, 2021, but Price says in the lawsuit the update did not remove all negative references. Price said in the lawsuit that Norman defamed him and pushed the public to believe the city police’s June 23 statement.
Price’s lawsuit claims gross negligence and conspiracy against the city for its statement and Norman for his posts. The lawsuit asks for damages because Price was physically hurt in the arrest and emotionally hurt by the statements.
The arrest
The arrest of Travis Price and his brother Ricky Price sparked three days of race-related protests in Rock Hill after a private citizen posted video showing police tactics used during the arrests. The Price brothers are African-American.
Travis Price was initially charged with hindering police activity in the incident. He was grabbed around the neck and taken to the ground by Rock Hill police, video shows.
Rock Hill police subsequently issued the news release. In July, prosecutors and the Rock Hill Police Department dropped the charge against Travis Price. The officer, Jonathan Moreno, involved was fired and arrested. Prosecutors said when the charge against Travis Price was dropped that he “did nothing wrong.”
Moreno was found not guilty of third-degree assault and battery in a January trial in York County court.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 11:24 AM.
