A former Greenville County Sheriff’s deputy was acquitted Thursday after a unanimous jury found him not guilty on charges of assault and misconduct in office.
Former deputy, Ryan Gibson, 31, was charged in relation to an incident on July 5, 2020 where he was accused of unlawfully arresting a man in front of his home in Greenville. Gibson arrested Benny Jones for interfering with a police officer after Jones exited his home to observe a traffic stop Gibson made in front of his residence.
During the stop, Gibson pulled over another man, Bobby Knox, for a malfunctioning middle brake light. According to Gibson’s body worn camera footage shown during the trial, when Jones exited his home, Knox fled the scene while Gibson was searching the vehicle. Instead of pursuing Knox, warrants say Gibson aggressively handcuffed and pushed Jones into a patrol vehicle before requesting backup to apprehend Knox.
Jones testified that he was not given an explanation for why he was detained.
Originally Gibson said that he saw Jones reach into Knox’s vehicle to grab drugs deputies found later in the car, according to the body camera footage shown during the trial. However, on Aug. 5, 2020, Gibson was fired by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office after an internal investigation found he lied about noticing Jones go into the car.