By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
One would’ve had to be stranded on another planet not to have seen the horrifying video of a sixteen-year-old female high school student being brutally-slammed by a school resource officer in Columbia, South Carolina.
Needless to say, this despicable footage has gone viral but, more importantly, it has raised questions (once again) about the manner in which law enforcement officers attempt to take suspects of color into custody.
Let’s begin our discussion with an examination of the undisputed facts in this heinous school incident.
• The teenager is question was supposed to be working on a computer project.
• Student opted to pull out cellphone instead.
• The teacher told student multiple times to put away the device.
• An administrator was summoned to the classroom, but the student still refused to obey their requests.
• A school resource officer, Ben Fields, was subsequently called to remove the student from the classroom. Videos that surfaced online captured part of what happened next. Fields can be heard telling the student to get up.
A few minutes later, he grabs the student in her seat, and forcibly throws her causing the girl and the chair to flip over onto the floor.
Fields can then be seen dragging the girl for several feet and restraining her on the ground.
According to Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, one video from inside the math classroom at Spring Valley High School shows the student “resisting.”
Sheriff Lott alleges that when the officer puts his hands on her initially, she reaches up and pops the officer with her fist.
However, after having viewed this video countless times, I find the sheriff’s contention to be utterly baseless.
Equally damning, other students have indicated that the girl was non-compliant (in not putting away her phone), but these same students also admit that she was not disruptive and was actually apologetic about her action. Naturally, the usual “court of public opinion” has been playing itself out: casting aspersions on the victim’s character, while going to lengths to humanize the law enforcement officer.
The fact that Fields once received an award for his work as a school resource officer or has a Black girlfriend is neither material nor relevant to this instant event. I would be the first to concede that Fields, in all likelihood, is not a racist.
However, the real issue or question, in my view, is whether Fields acted appropriately under the circumstances; and, whether the level of force used was proportionate to the situation being confronted?
To my way of thinking, Fields fails the test miserably.
This was a case of excessive force … pure and simple.