Ben Fields, South Carolina Cop Who Body-Slammed Teenager For Being ‘Disruptive,’ Has Been Fired
Ben Fields, the South Carolina school resource officer who was caught on video body-slamming a female student who was being disruptive in class, has been fired, NBC News is reporting.
Earlier this week, a student at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina, recorded the 34-year-old Fields grabbing a female teenage student by the neck, body-slamming her to the floor while still in her chair, and dragging her out of the classroom. The video quickly went viral and sparked outrage.
At about 11:00 a.m., the girl, who has not been identified as of this post, allegedly pulled out her cell phone during algebra class and began texting. She refused to put it away when told to do so, and refused to leave the classroom when told to do so. A school administrator failed to convince her to leave, as well, and Fields was called in. Fields then commanded her to stand up or be removed by force. When she remained seated, Fields body-slammed the girl to the floor, still in her seat, then dragged her out of the room.
Cell phone videos taken from another angle appears to show the girl attempting to punch Fields as he is taking her into custody.
After the incident, Fields was placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation.
On Wednesday, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced that an internal investigation into the incident concluded that Fields had violated department policies. Lott said the department interviewed several witnesses and looked at several cell phone videos shot from different angles, and determined that Fields’ conduct was “not acceptable.”
“From the very beginning that’s what’s caused me to be upset, and (which) continued to upset me is that he picked the student up and threw the student across the room. Deputy Ben Fields did wrong this past Monday.”
Whether or not race played a role in the incident is not clear. Fields is white, and the student he body-slammed is African-American, although Fields has also been dating an African-American woman “for some time.”
Fields has been the subject of racial bias and excessive force complaints in the past, according to CBS News. A student who was expelled in 2013 claimed that Fields falsely accused him of being a gang member — that student also alleged that Fields targeted blacks. The trial in that case is expected to begin in January. In 2006, a black woman accused Fields of violating her rights, battering her during an arrest — that lawsuit was later dismissed. In 2005, a black couple accused Fields of excessive force and battery when he responded to a noise complaint — that case went to trial, and the jury sided with Fields.
JUST IN: Deputy who slammed student to the ground in S.C. high school has been fired https://t.co/51oCvAqE95 pic.twitter.com/FEFm8wtjJB
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 28, 2015
Another student who was involved in the incident, identified as 18-year-old Niya Kenny, said that Fields is known around campus at Spring Valley High as “Officer Slam.”
“He’s known as ‘Officer Slam’ around our school, and I’ve heard he’s, in the past, slammed pregnant women, teenage girls… he’s known for slamming.”
Although he’s fired Fields, Sheriff Lott reiterates that the girl in the video is as much responsible for what happened as Fields is.
“What she did doesn’t justify what our deputy did. It doesn’t justify his actions, but she needs to be held responsible for what she did.”
Both the FBI and the Justice Department are investigating the incident to see whether or not the unidentified girl’s civil rights were violated by Fields. If any criminal charges stem from the incident, they will come from one or the other of those agencies.
Do you think Ben Fields deserved to be fired for his actions? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[Image via YouTube]
