South Carolina officer fired for violently arresting student

Officer Ben Fields assaulted a student on video

(Image credit: Screenshot/Youtube)

published 28 October 2015

South Carolina school officer Ben Fields has been fired for "violating department standards" following an internal investigation of an incident captured on video in which Fields pulled an African-American high school student out of her desk and threw her across the classroom, Richland County authorities announced Wednesday. The student was allegedly resisting arrest.

"Even though she was wrong for disturbing the class, even though she refused to abide by the directions of the teacher, the school administrator, and also the verbal commands of our deputy, I'm looking at what our deputy did," Sheriff Leon Lott said at a news conference Wednesday.