Columbia, SC: Officer Ben Fields drags and assaults high school teenager

In yet another example of the ever-growing police brutality epidemic in America, Richland County Sheriff Deputy Officer Ben Fieldsflipped over a desk occupying a black female student (thus ejecting her from desk and onto the floor), dragged her, and had her arrested.

WLTX:

The video began spreading on social media sites Monday afternoon. In it, a female student can be seen sitting in her chair in a classroom where several other students are present. An officer can be seen grabbing the student out of her desk, causing the chair to flip over. Once the student is on the ground, the officer can be seen grabbing the student and dragging her for several feet.

The officer then tells the girl to put her hands behind her back. The video stops at that point.

The Richland County Sheriff's Department is the agency that has school resource officers at Spring Valley High. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott tells News19 that a disruptive student refused to leave after a teacher asked her to. An administrator was called to the room, and also asked the student to leave, Lott said, and she refused again. Finally, the school resource officer came to the room. Lott said the officer forcibly removed the student and she resisted arrest.

German Lopez at Vox:

A new video demonstrates the dramatic consequences of what's widely known as the "school-to-prison pipeline."

The video, taken by a student at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina, shows an in-school arrest going terribly wrong. A police officer apparently tells a female student to get up. When she seemingly disobeys, the officer flips over the student and her desk, and then tosses her to the other side of the room. The officer then finishes the arrest while the student lies on the floor.

Again, this is all happening in a public school in America. And to the students, it doesn't even seem surprising — those visible in the videos calmly watch the situation unfold or turn away.

Video of Officer Fields throwing a black female student from her desk and arresting her:

WLTX's Joyce Koh reports that the officer has been directed to not return to any school in the district, while an investigation is underway:

Superintendent: "Pending the outcome of the investigation, the District has directed that the SRO not return to any school in the District."

— Joyce Koh (@JoyceKohWLTX) October 26, 2015

Officer Fields should have his badge revoked after this incident.

New York Daily News (and former Daily Kos staffer) writer Shaun King on Ben Fields:

Longer clip from a new student. Officer Ben Fields can be heard telling another student "I'll put you in jail next"https://t.co/...

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) October 26, 2015

Students & Grads @ Spring Valley High School have now told me of 4 separate incidents of brutality with Officer Ben Fields.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) October 26, 2015

Don't you dare critique the other students in this video for being frozen. Had they intervened & gotten killed we'd all ask why.

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) October 26, 2015

Also, after these 15 seconds are over, many students could not contain their anger, & were threatened by the officer #AssaultAtSpringValley

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) October 26, 2015

Johnetta Elzie (@Nettaaaaaaaa):

And this poor baby. She is not making a sound. I can not imagine what her thoughts were before, during or after this officer brutalized her.

— Johnetta Elzie (@Nettaaaaaaaa) October 26, 2015

Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill):

Let's be clear... NOBODY would be asking what that little girl did to deserve a police assault if she were white.

— Marc Lamont Hill (@marclamonthill) October 26, 2015

Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti):

Black girls suffer greatly from overpolicing in schools. Via @aapf:

#SpringValleyHighpic.twitter.com/aJP42m3Ht7

— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) October 26, 2015

What happened at #SpringValleyHigh was armed assault on a minor.

Period.

— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) October 26, 2015