Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Wednesday that Senior Deputy Ben Fields has been fired.
Advertisement
Two videos show Fields standing over a student, seated at her desk. School officials and sheriff’s deputies said they are investigating what happened. Lott suspended Fields after the teen’s arrest was recorded by students.
“The maneuver that he [Fields] used was not based on the training and was not acceptable”, Lott said when revealing the findings of the investigation 48 hours after the incident occurred.
The videos of the confrontation between the white deputy and black girl stirred such anger that Lott called the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department for help.
Wilson said later that Lott, who is attending an out-of-town conference, “was very disturbed’ by the video but asked for public patience during the investigation”. A criminal investigation was underway, but the probe generally takes more time.
“And at that point, he just flipped the desk back and grabbed her out of it and threw her. And that’s when you see her rolling across the floor”.
In 2007, a black couple accused Fields, another deputy and Sheriff Lott of excessive force, false arrest and violation of free speech rights, but a jury ruled in Fields’ favor. The girl refused to put the phone away, and Fields was eventually called in to take her out of the room.
“Everyday these deputies do a fantastic job building positive relationships with students, faculty and parents”, Lott said.
The girl was reportedly texting on a phone Monday morning when she was told to work on a school project by her teacher. “He takes out a whole can of mace and uses a whole can of mace on me so I did what I was trained as a soldier”, Martin, who served as a Sergeant in Iraq, told INSIDE EDITION.
The officer’s goal, Lott said, should have been to talk with her and to de-escalate the situation before resorting to any physical contact. The poster says the teacher disciplined the student with a write-up for being disrespectful and disobedient.
Sheriff Leon Lott had said Tuesday that the girl “may have had a rug burn” but otherwise was not injured. Among the criticisms: his admitted use of “muscling techniques” to get the student out of her chair.
Fields, who has not commented on the incident, has worked for the sheriff’s office since 2004 and joined its school resource officer program in 2008. The school resource officer asked the girl to leave the classroom with him.
Advertisement
Trial is set for January in the case of an expelled student who claims Fields targeted blacks and falsely accused him of being a gang member in 2013. A third lawsuit, dismissed in 2009, involved a woman who accused him of battery and violating her rights during a 2006 arrest.
