By now, many have seen the highly disturbing and triggering video of Ben Fields, a school resource officer, slamming and dragging a Black female student of Spring Valley High School (South Carolina) out from her desk. News affiliate WISTV reports that the FBI and U.S. Attorney's Office has opened a civil rights investigation into the incident which happened on Monday.
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"The public wants answers. I want answers too and we’re going to get them very quickly, and we’re going to make sure the public knows what we’re going to do and why we’re going to do it. There’s nothing that we’re going to hide at the Sheriff’s Department," Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said.
Lott says the FBI will lead the investigation into this incident in an effort to curb questions of a "conflict of interest."
From WISTV:
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Fields, according to Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, was acting in response to the student, who was refusing to leave class.
"The student was told she was under arrest for disturbing school and given instructions which she again refused," Lott said. "The video then shows the student resisting and being arrested by the SRO."
The first two videos show Fields approaching the girl sitting at a desk in a classroom. Fields grabs the girl's arm while putting his own arm around the student's neck.
However, a third video from Instagram shows Fields try and pick the female student out of her desk, but the student then hits the officer while he brings the desk to the ground.The person who posted the Instagram video says the student was initially asked to leave the class for telling the teacher that she would not put away her phone. The poster says the teacher disciplined the student with a write-up for being disrespectful and disobedient. After being asked to leave again, and her refusing, an administrator came to remove her, she refused, and that is when the SRO was called in.
The poster of this video claims when Fields got to the classroom, he asked her to get up from her desk 4 or 5 times and again, she tells him no. After moving objects from around the student, and asking again to leave the classroom, and her refusing, that is where you see the officer getting physical.
'Heartbroken' Parents
A majority of Spring Valley High students are Black, with minorities making up 64% of the student body. Undeniably, the parents of these students are dealing with the reality that this could have been their daughter or son. Via WISTV:
A group calling themselves the Richland Two Black Parents Association called the video "egregious" and "unacceptable."
"Parents are heartbroken as this is just another example of the intolerance that continues to be of issue in Richland School District Two particularly with families and children of color," the statement said. "As we have stated in the past, we stand ready to work in collaboration to address these horrible acts of violence and inequities among our children”.
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Fields Has A History
Ben Fields has worked at Spring Valley High as a resource officer since 2008 and has been with the Richland Sheriff's Office for 11 years. Fields is currently pending a federal lawsuit from a 2013 incident involving a black student. The site Fusion reports:
According to the lawsuit, the student in question, Ashton James Reese, was expelled as a result of Fields’ allegations. The suit claims that Fields “unfairly and recklessly targets African-American students with allegations of gang membership and criminal gang activity.”
Fields is on unpaid leave and will not be back at Spring Valley or any school pending the results of the investigations, confirms officials.
Is this enough?
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Many are pointing fingers at the young lady, but there is no justifiable reason for Fields' excessive actions. None.
