After officer’s firing, now focus on improving Rock Hill police practices, leaders say
Multiple leaders in Rock Hill shared a similar sentiment late Thursday: Accountability prevailed, but the broader goal of addressing the aggressive nature of police practices in the Rock Hill Police Department must continue.
At a Thursday afternoon press conference, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division shared results of their investigation, which focused on the controversial arrest of two brothers on June 23 and ignited three nights of race-related protests in Rock Hill. It also was announced that a Rock Hill police officer involved in one arrest had been fired and charged with assault.
Rock Hill Police Chief Chris Watts said at the press conference that officer John Moreno did not properly de-escalate the incident and “broke the law” during the arrest of Ricky and Travis Price, both whom are Black.
Moreno publicly apologized to Travis Price, who attended Thursday’s news conference. Moreno then was led to the York County jail. The charge against Moreno is a misdemeanor.
Rock Hill City Solicitor Chisa Putman, who was also at the news conference, said the hindering police charge against Travis Price has been dismissed.
Apostle Norma Gray, a community leader and local NAACP president who worked closely with Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys and other agencies over the past few weeks regarding the June 23 arrests, told The Herald she is pleased with the investigation’s outcome.
“For me, I’m glad to see that Chief Watts and the Rock Hill Police Department recognized that he needed to be fired,” said Gray, who clarified that she spoke for herself and not on behalf of the Rock Hill NAACP.
The local NAACP chapter was to meet Thursday night to discuss the results of the investigation, and will provide a statement afterward, Gray said.
“I’m glad they took swift action. However, for me, this is not over,” Gray said. “We must address the aggressive nature that is evident in the culture among some in our police department. And I’ve said such to Chief Watts.”
Last summer, Gray spearheaded the creation of a citizen review board for the Rock Hill Police Department. City Council members voted in September to establish the review board.
Gray told The Herald Thursday that instances like June 23, when citizens believe the police mistreat someone, is exactly what the review board is made for.
“We make recommendations,” she said. “So for example, in this case, we might discuss and take a look at, ‘OK, Officer Moreno was fired. Let’s take a look at how he was hired. Did we look at this? ... Was he ever evaluated for his aggressive behavior?
“And then we may recommend that certain trainings be put in place. We may recommend re-training. We could make all these recommendations to the city council and to the chief, but we don’t have direct power to hire or fire.”
Other leaders react to Moreno firing
Maurice Sutter, the Rock Hill Black Lives Matter Chapter President, told The Herald via phone interview on Thursday that he is glad an officer is being held accountable . He said he also is proud for his community’s civic engagement.
“Rock Hill has never experienced anything like this,” he said. “And for the Solicitor’s Office to hold accountable (our police department) and its officer’s actions? That speaks volumes that we will not put up with this in our city.”
Sutter viewed the police videos of the incident, which were released at the Thursday press conference, and said they shed a new light on the incident.
“I just want the public to know that if they watch the video, pay attention to it,” he said, adding that there was no evidence that Travis Price shoved Moreno during the incident, as was reported in a statement distributed by the RHPD shortly after the arrest on June 23.
“This is one step toward accountability,” Sutter said, “and there’s more to come from this.”
S.C. Rep. John King, D-Rock Hill, also attended the news conference. He said afterward to reporters outside the Moss Justice Center that Rock Hill must be held to account for the lies of the police in this case.
“The city needs to make this right,” King said. ”I am here to apologize to Travis Price as an elected official.”
King — the only Black member of the York County legislative delegation, and one who has criticized the police actions of June 23 since the incident happened — said the city and police now need to investigate all cases where Moreno was involved.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published July 9, 2021 at 8:19 AM.
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