Spring Valley High assault: South Carolina officer fired after slamming female student
Deputy Ben Shields has been fired 48 hours after cellphone video of the incident emerged online
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced Wednesday afternoon that Richland County Senior Deputy Ben Fields has been fired.
Deputy Fields was caught on video slamming a female student at Spring Valley High where he severed as the school's resource officer.
“Fields did not follow proper training and proper procedure when he threw the student across the room,” Sheriff Lott said during a press conference. He then put some of the blame on the student for refusing to put her cellphone away and refusing to leave the classroom, but quickly clarified that the officer's actions were completely inappropriate given the situation.
"Now, the action of our deputies, I take responsibility for that, but we also have to put responsibility on her for disrupting that school, disrupting that class and causing this incident to start from the very beginning," he said. "What she did doesn't justify what our deputy did. I don't want anyone to think that."
"We are doing the right thing in terminating him."
Columbia attorney Todd Rutherford told CBS News that Deput Fields should have been as soon as Sheriff Lott viewed the cellphone footage. Attorney Rutherford said the student is currently recovering from her injuries.
"She now has a cast on her arm, she has neck and back injuries. She has a Band-Aid on her forehead where she suffered rug burn on her forehead," he said.
The FBI and Justice Department are still conducting civil rights investigations to determine if the young girl's constitutional rights were violated.