School authorities are reportedly looking into the incident to get the truth out.
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“We must not lose sight that this whole incident was started by this student”. He also stated that he appreciates the district for promising to review how they use police officers in schools, admitting that perhaps the deputy should have never been called over this matter. But they don’t define that except to say she was texting in class and wouldn’t surrender her cellphone.
Three videos of the incident surfaced online each showing Fields standing over the student, who is seated at her desk, and then put his hands near her neck yanking her backwards.
“I do not feel that the proper procedures were used at that point”, said Lott about Fields throwing the student across the room.
Lott was asked Wednesday at a news conference whether Senior Deputy Ben Fields expressed remorse for his actions and Lott said “I don’t know if the word is remorse”. “That is not a proper technique and should not be used in law enforcement”. And based on that, that was a violation of our policy. A jury ruled in Fields’ favor in a 2007 excessive force suit, and the deputy is awaiting trial on the second suit over a student’s alleged wrongful expulsion.
On the day after the classroom incident, a prosecutor announced that an another police officer in South Carolina will not face criminal charges for fatally shooting a 19-year-old who was fleeing from a drug deal sting operation. She was preventing other students from learning and wasn’t paying attention. The sheriff said one of the videos shows the girl attacking the officer before the arrest. Their School Resource Officers also attend a yearly conference where they get additional training and networking with other LEO to discuss current trends effecting the schools on a state wide level.
A regularly scheduled school board meeting Tuesday night became an opportunity for community members to weigh in on the incident. The student in the altercation and Niya Kenny, 18, a student in the class, are being charged with disturbing schools, a misdemeanor. “I hope we continue to build the bridges we have between our citizens and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department”. “We need to keep them in schools”.
The student who took the classroom video, Tony Robinson, summed up the lesson he learned that is instructive for police as well. “We call it officer-created jeopardy”.
Sheriff Lott says, “He’s been at that school for seven years”. In that lawsuit, a former Spring Valley student claims he was unlawfully expelled from school in 2013.
Lott said he earlier spoke with Fields, who told him he’s sorry for how Monday’s confrontation played out.
But that did not excuse Fields’ behavior, according to Lott.
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Lott is scheduled to meet with reporters at noon Wednesday to discuss the case involving Master Deputy Ben Fields, a school resource officer at Spring Valley High School. The Positive response and heartfelt support of Ben has been overwhelming.
