Rock Hill man in arrest caught on video that sparked protests released on bail
One of two brothers involved in a controversial arrest with police in Rock Hill in June that caused three days of protests after video of the arrest went viral has been released from jail on bail pending trial, officials said.
Ricky Roderick Price was released Friday night after 8 p.m. after posting bond, York County jail officials said.
Price, 35, faces charges of resisting arrest, possession of crack cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and a traffic violation from the June 23 arrest. He had been in jail since June when bond was denied at an initial hearing, and then was denied bond again in August by South Carolina Circuit Curt Judge Dan Hall in a second court hearing.
In that August hearing, Price’s lawyer, 16th Circuit public defender B.J. Barrowclough, said Price deserved bond because he did not instigate the violence that was precipitated by police.
Price was free on bail at the time of the June arrest from several 2020 drug charges, records show. All the charges remain pending, South Carolina court records show.
Thursday, Price’s lawyers again sought bond for Price as Price awaits trial, according to court officials and documents. Hall set bond at $6,000 with house arrest and electronic monitoring as conditions of release.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers declined comment on Price’s case because it is pending.
No trial date has been set.
Arrests caused protests after viral video
Video from a private citizen was released on Facebook on June 23, the day of the arrest in a store parking lot. Ricky Price and his brother, Travis Price, are seen in the video interacting with Rock Hill Police Department officers and federal Department of Homeland Security agents. The video went viral.
The Facebook video of the incident prompted hundreds of people to protest the police use of force near the Rock Hill police station for three days in a row in late June. Both Price brothers are Black.
The arrest June 23
The video, and subsequent store video and police body cam videos released by lawyers in the case and by prosecutors, show Ricky Price and police fighting at the arrest scene.
Police and prosecutors said in previous court hearings and a news conference in July that Ricky Price was pulled over for a traffic violation. Afterward, police found marijuana and cocaine and a gun, officials said.
When Ricky Price was attempting to give his brother personal items at the arrest scene after officers removed his handcuffs, Travis Price is seen on video being taken to the ground by police officer Jonathan Moreno, according to prosecutors in earlier statements.
Video shows Ricky Price fighting with officers as his brother is taken to the ground. Ricky Price punched an officer and fought with other officers before he was subdued, prosecutors said previously in court and at a July news conference. Ricky Price was punched by officers in the leg and nose during the fight, previous court testimony showed.
Travis Price was arrested for hindering police on June 23. Rock Hill police said in a statement released publicly June 23 that Travis Price pushed officers.
Charges dropped against Travis Price, officer fired, arrested
In July at a news conference, York County prosecutors dropped the hindering police charge against Travis Price. The same day, South Carolina state police arrested Moreno, the officer who took Travis Price to the ground, on a criminal charge of third-degree assault and battery.
Moreno apologized to Travis Price during the July news conference.
Moreno was fired by the Rock Hill Police Department the day before he was arrested.
Moreno has requested a jury trial on the charges against him. That trial remains pending.
Weeks later, Travis Price filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Rock Hill and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C.. Travis Price claimed in the lawsuit he was physically hurt and he was defamed by the charges and statements made about him by Rock Hill officials and Norman.
Both the city and Norman, who is from Rock Hill, have denied wrongdoing in court filings, and asked that the lawsuit be dismissed by a judge. That case remains pending in federal court.
This story was originally published October 16, 2021 at 10:39 AM with the headline "Rock Hill man in arrest caught on video that sparked protests released on bail."
