A Spring Valley High School resource officer was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into a use of force incident against a student.
The incident, which occurred Monday, involved a female student who was reportedly disruptive in class at the Columbia, S.C. high school. The officer, identified as Ben Fields, ordered the student to stand up and leave the room.
When she refused to follow his orders, Fields put the student in a chokehold, flipped her chair over, dragged her caveman style, then bodily hurled the girl against a wall before placing her in handcuffs.
While the officer wrestled with the girl on the floor, the other students cowered in their seats, as if in fear of him.
The incident was caught on cell phone video and quickly went viral Monday evening. Celebrities such as Octavia Spencer, Cher, Ashanti, Talib Kweli, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson expressed their outrage on Twitter.com.
At least 2 cell phone videos have surfaced showing the incident. Both videos are posted below.
i can't unsee what i just saw. #AssaultAtSpringValleyHigh
— octavia spencer (@octaviaspencer) October 26, 2015
RT @EricScCribb: #Retweet &end this madness #AssaultAtSpringValleyHigh pic.twitter.com/K268QtBict @oprah @ashanti @GayleKing?>WOW DISGUSTING
— ASHANTI (@ashanti) October 27, 2015
The police officer should be fired and the police department should be sued. #AssaultAtSpringValleyHigh pic.twitter.com/yOsptB2jlx
— Rev Jesse Jackson Sr (@RevJJackson) October 27, 2015
RT @PinkzPerez: @AlSween @iMadeSmart Cool so she didn't listen. Let's drag her to the ground. sounds like slave master white supremacist
— Talib Kweli Greene (@TalibKweli) October 27, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggVMqzhkfCk
