The school resource officer who picked up a chair that just happened to have a child sitting in it, flipped it over then dragged that chair with child attached across the room, that officer lost his job yesterday.
According to the Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, the officer, Ben Fields, “did not use the proper technique” when the chair and its occupant were tossed.
“The fact that he picked the student up and he threw the student across the room — that is not a proper technique, and should not be used in law enforcement,” Lott said.
The incident that sparked outrage a few days ago involved a South Carolina teenage girl sitting in her classroom. The school resource officer was called in to remove the child from the class because, according to the report, the child was disruptive – she was on her cell phone and refused to leave when she was asked to.
The officer, who had a set of protocols to follow, broke them all when he flipped the chair and child over then dragged her like a bag of garbage across the room.
But like is expected in these situations, it is never the officer’s fault. Who knows, he was probably “scared for his life,” as is the common excuse used by officers to justify these types of actions. And like expected, Officer Fields’ lawyer issued a statement blaming the victim for getting dragged, while excusing the actions of his client, deeming those actions justifiable.
“We believe that Mr. Fields’ actions were justified and lawful throughout the circumstances of which he was confronted during this incident,” Fields attorney Scott Hayes said.
The FBI is investigating whether the student’s civil rights were violated. Since the incident it has been revealed that the child is in foster care.
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