U.S. Congressman says Rock Hill police statement prompted his Facebook post
A U.S. congressman from South Carolina who has been sued for his Facebook posts about a controversial arrest in Rock Hill, has filed a response in federal court.
Lawyers for U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., filed a response Friday in federal court to a lawsuit filed by Travis Price. Price filed a lawsuit in July against the city of Rock Hill and Norman because of public statements made by the city’s police department and Norman related to Price’s June 23 arrest.
In court documents filed Friday, Norman’s lawyers said the congressman was expressing support for law enforcement in general in Facebook statements, and relied on information provided by police.
“Congressman Norman relied on publicly available information disseminated by the City police department and at the time of sharing had no reason to believe that any of that information was false,” court documents filed Friday state. “It is clear from the face of his public statement that the Congressman was providing what he believed to be an accurate description of the events that occurred in his district, rather than with any ill will towards Mr. Price.”
Norman stated the incident in Rock Hill was an important public issue, and he clarified his statements in a second Facebook post, Friday’s court filing states.
“The core of Congressman Norman’s statement is that of a public official expressing his opinion on a matter of public concern...,” Norman’s lawyers stated. “Indeed, when the underlying facts were subsequently clarified by the City, the Congressman updated his original statement, expressing his opinion of and support for law enforcement in even clearer terms.”
Norman, a Rock Hill resident and native, has asked that the lawsuit against him be dismissed, court documents show.
The lawsuit against Norman and the city says false statements were made. The city and Norman are named as defendants.
The June 23 arrest of Travis Price and his brother, Ricky Price, was caught on video and posted on Facebook. The video went viral. Rock Hill had three days of race-related protests, and questions were raised about the use of police force.
A hindering police charge against Travis Price was dismissed July 8, and prosecutors charged the arresting police officer, Jonathan Moreno.
Justin Bamberg, Price’s lawyer, said the city and Norman vilified Travis Price. The city through a written statement issued June 23 after the arrests told the public that Travis Price did not comply with police, bumped police, and hindered police.
The lawsuit filed states Norman had a chance to apologize after the city police statement turned out to be untrue, but Norman did not do so.
“The ‘updated’ written statement did not retract the prior defamatory statements about Plaintiff (Travis Price) nor did it mention Plaintiff’s innocence from the unfounded allegations previously made against him by Defendant Norman,” the lawsuit filed by Travis Price states. “Defendant Norman did not even apologize to Plaintiff or make any attempt to undo the damage to Plaintiff’s character, dignity, image or reputation previously caused by Defendant Norman.”
A federal judge has not yet ruled on Norman’s request that the lawsuit against him be dropped. Norman’s lawyers said in court documents that Norman wants a jury trial if the case is not dismissed.
The city of Rock Hill has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit in federal court.
The case remains pending.
This story was originally published September 24, 2021 at 4:50 PM with the headline "U.S. Congressman says Rock Hill police statement prompted his Facebook post."
