South Carolina sheriff’s deputy, officer Ben Fields was fired today, just days after a video of him attacking a female student at Spring Valley High School went viral. In the video, you can see Fields grabbing the student by her neck, and attempting to yank her out of her desk. He then proceeds to flip the desk over while she’s still seated and throw her across the room. The incident occurred Monday, the officer was suspended without pay and then ultimately fired, Wednesday.
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The Sheriff spoke about the incident briefly, explaining that Fields was indeed wrong. He said,”actions by Deputy Fields was not typical of the job I expect them to do.”
However, went on to say that some of the responsibility lies with the victim, adding, “When a classroom is disrupted by a student, that disrupts the education process and the students can’t learn and the teachers can’t teach, we have to have discipline in our schools.” He continued, “We must not lose sight that this whole incident started by this student. She is responsible for initiating this action. Some responsibility falls on her.”
Classmate of the victim, 18 year-old Niya Kenny, who was also arrested at the time of the incident on the charge of “disturbing schools”, has spoken out about the incident saying it all began because the victim refused to give up her cell phone in class.
According to a Justice Department representative, in addition to the officer’s termination, the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office have opened a civil rights investigation to determine whether federal laws were violated during the student’s arrest. The sheriff announced, “We do not want any issues with the community or those involved having questions concerning conflicts of interest in this investigation.”
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Source CNN
