The video below has caused a public outcry after a South Carolina school resource officer identified as Richland County Sheriff’s Department Senior Deputy Ben Fields is shown tossing a female high school student to the floor and dragging her from a classroom after she refused to get up and leave with him. Fields has been placed on paid administrative leave.
Fields, shown right from a Twitter photo, was reportedly called in because the student would not get off her cellphone or leave the class as instructed. The 15-second video shows Fields asking the student “Are You Coming With Me or am I Going to Make You? Come on. I’m going to get you up.” What follows is the scuffle where the student ends up on the floor and being pulled by Fields. Fields is heard saying “I’ll put you in jail next.”
The site Heavy has reported that Fields in the subject of a lawsuit alleging violations of the civil rights of a student at Spring Valley High School. The student, Ashton James Reese, was expelled in 2013 from the high school for “unlawful assembly of gang activity and assault and battery” and was also accused of participating in a “gang related” fight in a Walmart parking lot near the school. In the lawsuit, he is accused of “recklessly target[ing] African-American students with allegations of gang membership and criminal gang activity.”
The Columbia mayor has denounced Fields and said “We cannot and will not accept this kind of behavior from any law enforcement officer and I firmly believe that we need an independent investigation to get to the bottom of this incident and see that justice is done.”
Given that this was all about cellphone use, is there any justification for this level of force in your view?
I am especially troubled by the repeated use of the race card, before all the facts are in.
Annie:
Between the two of us, only one of us has made assertive statements about what happened. And it’s not me. I have said get a full investigation. I have offered possible scenarios.
Based on a 15 second video, you “just know.”
I have said let’s get a full investigation, and I am troubled by what happened, on all sides.
You have done nothing but argue with me and made misrepresentations about what I have said, repeatedly. Which I have disproven.
Only one of us stands for the rule of law. It is not you.
*Comment after comment*
Karen hasn’t even seen the video yet in comment flyer comment she is attempting to create an alternate scenario.
Correction, “whom he also ignored.”
Philat:
“Sorry dearie but I’m not the one whinin that the uppity black girl should be compliant with the rules and that she got whatever she deserved no matter how brutal.
You and your pals are the ones being hypocrites here.”
Wrong. Improper use of race. All the kids in that classroom need to follow the rules. What the heck does her skin color have to do with it? I would be so angry and upset if I found out that my son, as a teenager, had disrespected his teacher, refused to put down his cell phone, refused to go to the office, interrupted class and wasted everyone’s time, wasted the office’s time when they had to send someone else down who he also ignored, and then he disrespected a cop, refused to comply with the cop. . .
If the cop acted wrongly, I would ALSO be upset with him or her. But that would not have changed the pattern of behavior of my son’s, and it would not absolve him of punishment. The cop is responsible for his own behavior and the child is responsible for their’s.
I THINK this is the correct Public Service Announcement by Chris Rock entitled, “How Not to Get Your A^^^ Kicked by the Cops.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2plo4FOgIU
As a parent, I highly suggest the parents of all teenagers watch it with them.
po
Rape on campus is much less prevalent…so now what? Does that undermine my point?
Yes. It shows you’re jacked up fighting nonexistent “epidemics”, which in turn shows you do not understand reality. How can anyone value the commentary of someone so in thrall to to political hysterics they cannot understand the world around them?
To summarize you think we should devalue David’s opinion because we’re experiencing a rape epidemic, but concurrently you don’t believe the fact that there is no epidemic means we should devalue your opinion.
Max:
“So assault on some level, is acceptable?”
NO. The rule of law applies to everyone.
Was it criminal assault? An accident? Did he lost his grip and drop her? Throw her down on purpose as hard as he could?
The consequences depend on what happened.
WHY is it a controversial topic to get a thorough investigation? By all means, the cop should be on leave while they determine what happened.
Sorry dearie but I’m not the one whinin that the uppity black girl should be compliant with the rules and that she got whatever she deserved no matter how brutal.
You and your pals are the ones being hypocrites here.
philat – this is not a race issue. This would have happened the same way regardless of the color of the student.
What is anarchy? Complete lawlessness.
Not applying the rule of law in politically motivated cases is literally, by definition, undermining the rule of law, which is accurately described as approaching anarchy.
Hence why our own dear Professor is currently challenging the president on his uber presidency in court. To defend the rule of law regardless of his personal politics, or feelings about the end goals of such lawlessness.
And may I just add:
The Constitution is not the bible. Or maybe it is, since both were written by men, doing the best they could to interpret the wisdom of the day. In either case, it is NOT holy scripture and it is very hard to believe that any one of the founders, were they alive today, would not have second thoughts about the second amendment.
And if you want to stay true to the founders intent, then by all means everyone should be free to keep and bear the blunderbuss or muzzle-loader of their choice.
And if you’re OK with following the law, are you OK with following the law against gay marriage? But wait, they challenged that law. Why is it OK for gay marriage but not OK for the 2nd Amendment?
Make up your mind.
philat:
That is called exercising free speech. People are allowed to disagree with decisions, race to conclusions, and come to wrong conclusions all they want, as long as they don’t descend into anarchy and burn down cities or libel. And of course challenging the laws in court IS following the law.
“It’s like we’re approaching anarchy.”
Yeh, it’s just like that.
Exaggerate much?
DBQ:
Too late! It’s on the internet and you were found guilty!
My dad would have so made me apologize to everyone, too. I would have been more concerned about embarrassing the family with my behavior, or seeing the disappointment in their eyes (or getting grounded, etc) than with the cops.
I was talking with a Latino dad last night at soccer practice. (I mention his race because there is this meme that cops are all racists). He said when he was 13, his mom told him to wash her car. He did. And then he took it for a joy ride. He was arrested, and the cops explained what he did to his mom. His mom was so outraged, it was like thunderclouds were gathering over the house. He told the cop to please take him to jail. He said, he was supposed to take him in, but he was going to hand him over to his mom instead, because it looked like she was going to be harder on him than juvie. And then he wished him luck.
No police brutality. No resisting arrest. Discretion on the part of the cop. No racism. It’s nice to see when cops display discretion and good judgement, and the teenager WAS held accountable.
I do think that some of the good that can come out of this is also analyzing the discipline problems and solutions at the school, in addition to analyzing the policies, training, and individual behavior at the police department.
Karen
I wasn’t singling you out, or 2nd amendment fanatics either. People opposed the SCOTUS ruling on gay marriage, the enforcement of grazing fees on that Cloven Bundy, the ACA in a dozen different ways, and on and on.
But since you brought it up, yes, the same contingent is quite certain THEY know what the 2nd amendment is all about and that “well-regulated” has nothing to do with regulating, I repeat, NOTHING.
Just comply with the laws and stop making so much trouble and disrupting everything. Sit in your chair and be still child.
Max:
“All the focus on the girl’s ‘behavior’ as if she deserved to be assaulted yet not a peep about the adults in the room and their behavior?”
Sometimes I despair of you. Please point out where I said not a peep about the adults in the room. You know, like my concern that should could have been seriously hurt? Or my wanting to know who pushed her chair over? My concern about training for the elderly with dementia and rebellious teenagers who are not a threat?
Do you even read what I write?
I said that regardless of whether she was a victim of wrongdoing, she ALSO has a behavior problem. That is TRUE. It needs to be resolved properly, and that does NOT involve beating her with a stick. She ALSO is responsible for behaving in school. If someone trips her tomorrow at school, that behavior is wrong, but it has zero bearing on her other issues.
Kids have their whole lives in front of them. I don’t want to see anyone throw their futures away. And this girl is running out of time. Although, to be fair, maybe she is an honors student and has never, ever acted this way before.
davidm
“Students today have no respect for authority whatsoever, especially black students. ”
= = =
SMH at the racism…
LOL DBQ…
“Karen needs to first VIEW the video before stating with certainty what occurred.”
This is what I’ve said:
“how do you know she did not tip herself over? How do you know her leg flew up as a reaction, and not as a cause? They would have to slow the video down frame by frame and show the chair tipping over, and then her leg coming up. And even then, how would you know it wasn’t her upper body leaning back, away from the cop, that caused it to tip?
You are not CSI. And neither am I. Definitely question everything you hear in an investigation, and make them prove it to you.
But what you are doing is condemning first. That is wrong, that is anarchy and mob rule, and you would very likely not want this applied to yourself if, God forbid, anything ever went wrong on your nursing job.”
I have also said, clearly and repeatedly, that the cop may have been guilty of wrongdoing, but that they need to do a thorough investigation and then release all the evidence to the public.
You have repeatedly misrepresented what I’ve said. Either that, or “certainty” does not mean what you think it does.
Compare and contrast what you claim I’ve stated with certainty, and what YOU have said, which is:
“Karen, the cop DID flip her desk over backwards.”
Now THAT is making an assumption with certainty. THAT is what leads to people giving death threats and burning down cities – irresponsible comments on the internet.
As I’ve said before, they need to slow the video down frame by frame to analyze which came first, the chair tipping or her leg flying up, and THEN they need to determine if her upper body was leaning back to tip it and THEN they need to ascertain why the cop did not or could not hold onto her when the desk flew over.
Honestly, bloodthirsty savages with pitch forks, what is wrong with getting this investigated and then asking to see all the facts? Are you OK with this scenario playing out the same with you? No more criminal justice system, just 15 second video clips on the internet.
This is what anarchy and mob rule looks like, and it makes me very uncomfortable.
Get an investigation and make them prove their case. Maybe he will be found guilty, but it had better happen by the rule of law and be unbaised, without political interference, or we’re just a banana republic.