Former Rock Hill police officer Jonathan Moreno announced his run for York County Council. Moreno was accused of assaulting and wrongfully arresting an African American man named Travis Price last summer.
The Rock Hill Police Department said that he made an illegal turn and also had drugs and an illegal firearm in the car. Moreno was allegedly unaware that Price was standing where he was told by other officers and confronted Price before pushing him to the ground.
Moreno was later let go from the police department and charged with misdemeanor assault and battery. He was found not guilty by a jury in January of 2022.
Moreno stated that he “didn’t want to focus on what happened but rather what he still brings to the table.”
“What I want people to know is that what you see on the internet is not always necessarily the character and person that you know,” Moreno said in an interview with WCNC News.
Moreno is currently running against incumbent William “Bump” Roddey for the District 4 council seat.
The York County Democratic Party released a statement when Moreno’s filing was announced that said in part: “Running a man like Moreno up against a Black public servant in a district that is 48% African-American is a clown show, not a concerted effort to improve the quality of life in York County. If the York County GOP’s goal was to win the seat, they wouldn’t run someone as infamous as Jonathan Moreno. If their goal isn’t to win, we must ask: what is it?”
Moreno also said that his work in the law enforcement field would help him bridge the division that is currently found in Rock Hill.
