Video of SC police officer, Ben Fields, assaulting a Black female student at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina, surfaced on Monday and, to no ones surprised, is stirring much controversy.
In the footage, Fields violently grabbed, slapped to the floor and drags the student who seemed to have been non-confrontational.
Fields, a White officer, received backlash for his aggressive behavior, prompting many to ask, ‘Would this happen if the student was White?’
As per the NY Daily News,
A South Carolina sheriff’s deputy has been pulled from the school where he worked as a resource officer after video showed him slamming a student to the ground while classmates watched in horror.
Deputy Ben Fields was caught on camera at Spring Valley High School in Columbia ordering a student out of her seat. The imposing officer, who is a powerlifter in his free time, stands over her desk and tells the student, “either you’re coming with me or I’ll make you.” Without giving her time to get up, he grabs her and flips her over, slamming her, and her desk, onto the ground.
The veteran officer then drags her out of her chair and tossed her across the room, as students watched speechlessly. The deputy pinned the senior student down as he puts her hands behind her back. He tells another student, “I’ll put you in jail next.”
The female student was not injured and was later released to her parents, cops said.
As for fellow students at the SC High school, they say the officer has had a history of roughing up students.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said he’d seen the video and found it “disturbing.” Lt. Curtis Wilson said the deputy was removed from the school and placed on administrative duty while investigators look into the attack. He said school resource officers are always held to a higher standard of investigation because they’re meant to protect students.
“The video is going to be helpful because it shows us what happened,” Wilson said.
Officials are looking into what happened before the violent arrest happened, cops said. Police said the student was under arrest for refusing to the leave the classroom after being disruptive.
The school’s superintendent Dr. Debbie Hamm said in a statement that the video was deeply concerning.
“Student safety is and always will be the district’s top priority,” Hamm said. “The district will not tolerate any actions that jeopardize the safety of our students.”
The school district is aiding the sheriff’s department in its investigation.
Take a look for yourselves.
Did officer Fields exert too much force and violence in arresting the student?
