‘Why did you take me?’ Body cam video released from Connie Moran’s public drunk arrest

The Ocean Springs Police Department on Friday released video showing the arrest of former Mayor Connie Moran on a misdemeanor charge of public drunk.

The day she buried her mother, Jan. 13, an officer found Moran lying in front of her home in the southbound lane of Washington Avenue.

The video is from the body cameras of four officers, as well as a camera on the dashboard of one patrol car, and one inside of the back of another patrol car.

The Sun Herald and other media outlets requested the footage using a public records request.

Normally, the Sun Herald only covers felony arrests. However, as a former mayor, Moran is considered a public figure and is held to a different standard. She also has publicly disputed the police department’s account of what happened.

On June 3, she pleaded “no contest” to the misdemeanor so she could appeal to county court. A plea of no contest means she is not admitting guilt but agrees there is enough evidence to convict.

“I pleaded no contest in order not to try this case in (Ocean Springs) city court,” Moran told the Sun Herald. “I don’t think I could get a fair trial.”

On Thursday evening, a public relations firm released a statement on Moran’s behalf:

“I am vigorously defending these meritless allegations on what was nothing more than an unfortunate accident … and I anticipate this will be dismissed. Due to my relationship with the city of Ocean Springs, we are seeking for the trial to take place in county court.

“On the evening in question, I slipped on a slick hill of the driveway to my home near the street as I was calling my pets back inside the house. I hit my head and scraped my elbow, and suffered resulting dizziness and confusion — later diagnosed by my doctor as a possible slight concussion.

“The arrest and allegations should never have happened, especially since it took place on and immediately in front of my private property, and there were no witnesses to the fall other than the police.”

Why did officers arrest Moran?

The Ocean Springs officers involved in Moran’s arrest were Howard Rhodes, Mellanie Hammond, Chris Bryan and Paris Griffin.

Footage from the officers’ body cameras shows Moran lying in the roadway. She has said she was in her driveway, but footage shows Moran lying on the pavement with the left side of her body on the edge of a grass yard.

She appears disoriented, not knowing where she is or how she got there, and her speech is slurred. Video also shows her unable to stand after Rhodes tries to help her up by grabbing her arm.

Rhodes’ incident report said she was “highly intoxicated” and smelled of alcohol.

Throughout the approximately 25 minutes of footage, Moran increasingly asks for help to get back to her house.

“They could have just helped me back into my home,” she has told the Sun Herald.

The Sun Herald asked Police Chief Mark Dunston why officers didn’t ticket Moran and help her to her home instead of arresting her.

“It’s up to an officer’s discretion on a public drunk charge whether to ticket them or make an arrest,” He said. “When somebody is that drunk, they typically don’t ticket them.”

He said he was under the impression that some officers did try to make contact with someone at Moran’s home.

“They went to the door to see if anybody was there and whether a responsible adult could take care of her and nobody answered,” he said.

In the footage that spans about 25 minutes, police officers laugh at times and make off-handed comments, such as “Have fun” after they get her in the patrol car.

“I have no idea why an officer was on there laughing about something,” he said. “But they are not perfect people,” he said.

“It’s not about them,” Dunston said. “It’s about the arrest.”

At various points in the footage, officers seem to be discussing whether to press charges or not. As they are waiting on paramedics to arrive, a male voice comes over the radio, saying “1218 give me a call,” and Bryan walks to his patrol car to get his cellphone.

“Me and Rhodes were just having a discussion and I said you really didn’t say not to,” Bryan said over the phone. “If we want to, we can. I’m with you, ....yeah .... yeah. I’m with you. You want to do a misdemeanor?”

The Sun Herald asked Dunston who Bryan was talking to.

“The only person they would have been calling at that time of night would be the sergeant or the lieutenant,” Dunston said. “They are in charge of the shift. They were probably discussing what to do with her.”

At several points in the officers’ body-camera videos, the audio shuts off, such as when Bryan and Rhodes are having their discussion. Video also cuts out of Hammond’s footage at some points.

“That’s a glitch in the audio,” Dunston said. “It shuts off sometimes. That’s just technology.”

Timeline from body-cam and dash-cam footage

• Officer Rhodes first approaches Moran, who is lying on her back with her knees up on the edge of Washington Avenue, next to a grass yard.
• Officer Hammond joins and talks with Moran, asks her where she lives. Rhodes asks Moran if her head hurts, and Moran says no and that she wants to “sleep in her own bed.” Hammond asks if Moran knows she’s in the middle of the street, and after nodding then shaking her head, she says no.
• The officers ask for Moran’s name, and Hammond asks, “Didn’t you used to be the mayor over here?”
• Hammond lets dispatch know the woman on the ground is Connie Moran.
• A second patrol car arrives with Bryan and Griffin.
• “I happened upon what I thought was a body in the road, then I find out you’re alive, so I’m glad to know that,” Rhodes says.
• Moran says she wants to go home, and tries to stand. Rhodes tries to help Moran up, but she can’t stand.
• Moran asks for help to get to her home, but Hammond says to wait for Acadian Ambulance to arrive. “If you hurt yourself and I move you, you could be hurt worse,” the officer tells her.
• Moran says that’s “ridiculous,” tries to stand and takes a hard fall to the pavement. Rhodes tells Moran, “You might want to stay laying down this time.”
• Before paramedics arrive, Rhodes and Bryan discuss whether Moran should be jailed or just given a citation.
• Paramedics get to the scene. Moran is sat up so they can check her.
• A female paramedic asks Moran if she’s hurt. Moran indicates she doesn’t remember falling down or how she got there.
  
  
• On Griffin’s video, an officer says, “I’d rather take her to jail than write her a ticket.” Rhodes replies, “That’s all you, buddy. I think that’s what needs to happen.”
• A paramedic mentions seeing yard signs with Moran’s name on them and asks if she’s running for office. Laughter can be heard in the background.
• Griffin asks Bryan what charge Moran would be arrested on, and Bryan answers “public drunk.” Griffin says, “I didn’t think you could arrest her like that, you could do that technically speaking, because it’s not in view of the ‘public’ (making air quotes).” Bryan replies with “Ah. True, I guess.” Rhodes disagrees, saying “If you let her go, and she runs out here and becomes a hood ornament in the next couple of minutes ... ‘Why didn’t you put her in jail?’ is what they’re gonna ask.”
• Griffin stands Moran up, and he and Rhodes walk her to Griffin and Bryan’s patrol car. Moran says she’s going to her house. Griffin says, “We’ll take you to a good house ... you get a nice bed to lay in.”
• Moran asks why police are arresting her as she is handcuffed on the back of the patrol car. She repeatedly asks to be taken back into her house. Moran says they’re just trying to make her look bad, and later yells “because I’m a Democrat?”
• Moran begins wailing as they try to get her feet inside the police vehicle. Once she’s inside and the door shuts, an officer says “have fun” while walking away.
• Moran is struggling while handcuffed in the back of Bryan’s patrol car. “What is going on? What are you doing? Why did you take me?” she asks, and uses expletives at times.
• She still appears disoriented during the drive to the police station and then to the Adult Detention Center, rambling and yelling on and off. At one point, she says “Look, I just buried my mother today. Come on, take me home.” As she arrives at the jail, she starts yelling “don’t kill me.”

This story was originally published June 15, 2020 at 5:50 AM.