The trial of a father and son accused of assaulting two sheriff’s deputies and an emergency medical technician began Tuesday in Beaufort County Superior Court.

Bobby Joe Covey Jr. and Bobby Joe Covey Sr. face multiple charges for a 2011 incident that started with a 911 call for medical assistance and ended with the two Coveys in custody.

On Christmas Eve 2011, 911 telecommunicators alerted Pinetown EMS to an injury at a Five Points Farm Lane address near the Five Points intersection. But when a first responder arrived at the scene, the situation rapidly spiraled out of control, said Assistant District Attorney Mike Holloman during his opening statement.

“People got beat and bruised up … All in answering a call for help,” Holloman informed the jury.

The Coveys entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against them, which include assault with physical injury on emergency personnel, resisting a public officer and assault on a law enforcement officer causing serious injury.

During opening statements made by attorneys Mark Ward and Jeff Foster, defense attorneys for Bob Covey Sr. and Bobby Covey Jr. respectively, both alluded to the “dash cam” video from a sheriff’s office vehicle to be presented as evidence and entreated the jurors to pay close attention to the video.

“You may have to watch it several times before you can make sense of it,” Ward told the jury. “It’s going to be an emotional case.”

The trial is set to resume today at 9:30 a.m.