Man charged with assaulting Rock Hill police officer, causing fall down staircase

A Rock Hill man punched a police officer and was arrested after both fell down a staircase Thursday afternoon, according to a Rock Hill police report.

Police tried to stop a man driving a silver Toyota Camry at the intersection of Cherry Road and West Main Street after finding his North Carolina license plate had been revoked, the report says.

The man didn’t stop the car, the report says.

Police obtained the car information and went to the owner’s address, an apartment on Cedar Post Lane in Rock Hill, the report says.

The owner of the car, Shannon Gilmore, 43, was detained and told police the driver of the car was upstairs.

The driver of the car, Brenten Ray Ervin, 33, was ultimately arrested and charged with assaulting a police officer while resisting arrest, unlawful possession of prescription drugs, possession of marijuana, open container of liquor in a moving vehicle, uninsured motor vehicle fee violation and failure to stop for blue lights.

Police also found 0.73 grams of marijuana in a clear plastic bag in the car as well as four pills of Nabumetone and a “mostly empty” bottle of Hennessy, the report says.

Ervin was found in the upstairs apartment lying down, the report says.

As officers tried to handcuff him, Ervin punched an officer in the face, the report says. Officers were able to put him in handcuffs, but he struggled with an officer on the stairs, causing Ervin and the officer to fall to the bottom.

Ervin was taken to Piedmont Medical Center after complaining of a sore shoulder, but was cleared and transported to city jail, the report says.

Police charged Gilmore with hindering police, allowing operation of an uninsured motor vehicle without paying fee and allowing an unauthorized person to drive.

This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 2:35 PM with the headline "Man charged with assaulting Rock Hill police officer, causing fall down staircase."