SC - Columbia - Sheriff Slams Female Student to Floor In Class - #2

[Hope4More]

We know of two or three other cases now? I think two and a trial coming up in January. I'm sure there are others. The way he was fired immediately spoke volumes. When do we ever see that happen? It was especially odd for the Sheriff to fire him right away like that while at the same time saying he has the third video, the one that shows her as the aggressor. If there really were a video of her punching him he would still have his job. JMO.

Please provide links to these multiple cases you mention. Unless the Sheriff and Fields' attorney are lying to national media, he in fact has NO cases against him from the school district that relate in any way to excessive force.

 

[kimlynn]

Please provide links to these multiple cases you mention. Unless the Sheriff and Fields' attorney are lying to national media, he in fact has NO cases against him from the school district that relate in any way to excessive force.

Should we not take into account complaints away from the school? I think we should. It shows a pattern of people complaining about him and his doings as a police officer. IMO

 

[K_Z]

All the sheriff needed to see, was that the takedown was a technique not sanctioned or taught in their academy. That's it. And he was fired for that fireable offense.

It's refreshing to see someone act with a clear set of rules, and not take months and months about it. The girl was at fault, she started it, she's been charged with a crime. The separate issue, not related to the fact she started it, is that he used a dangerous procedure, which was clear on video, and was fired.

There is every difference imaginable. Good teachers encourage students to learn how to express dissent in a constructive way. 100 students learned that day it feels good to care about injustice and to oppose it, peacefully, and to have their voices heard. That's a powerful and extremely positive thing to learn. That they obeyed instruction to go back to class rather than to exploit the opportunity is pretty impressive.

On the other hand is a girl who broke a rule (trifling) and kept on going (alarming). IMO she was looking for a showdown, though I doubt she could possibly have anticipated how far it would go.

What Fields did was wrong and IMO, terrible. But as I have said from the beginning, the first wrong is having police officers in schools called in to classrooms to handle anything short of preventing or stopping physical violence or harm.

BBM.

Discernment is a very important point, Jeanna—and your earlier post about that is very well phrased.

It’s the same issue at play when the student is described innocuously as being “punished for peeking at her cell phone”. The student as of today (as far as we know) has not experienced any punishment at all. She was USING her cell phone in class against the well-known rules, and was asked to comply with the teacher by handing it over. The student escalated the situation with her defiance—at that point, the refusal to comply with very reasonable directions, from two levels above the classroom teacher was the very serious and worrisome problem—not the “peeking” at the cell phone. Very few people seem to understand that distinction.

The escalating defiance was the much more serious problem, not just the unauthorized cell phone use.

As we all know, public school violence is definitely on the rise, and adolescents are very impulsive. When a student shows such brazen defiance to reasonable directions, in the face of increasing levels authority (the vice principal, then the SRO), everyone needs to be alert for the possibility of the student’s behavior rapidly deteriorating to a violent confrontation.

For that reason, IMO, the other students in the classroom should have been immediately directed to leave the classroom, for their own safety in the deteriorating situation. The TEACHER should have taken them and led them out of the classroom, leaving the vice principal and RSO to further handle the situation.

Students can, and regularly DO, violently attack their teachers and peers in the classroom. For that reason, IMO, the RSO over-reacted to the takedown and removal situation. For that he has been fired, and faces ongoing legal trouble. He is adequately being punished for his behavior, IMO.

But I also take issue with the characterization (discernment) that the RSO “beat” the student. He did nothing of the sort. He WAS definitely overly rough in his takedown and arrest in a classroom situation—and he has been fired for that, and faces additional charges. But he did NOT “beat” her, IMO. And I personally don’t think what he did rises to the level of criminal charges, or civil rights violations. He has been fired—I believe that was the appropriate remedy for his behavior.

 

[Hope4More]

Should we not take into account complaints away from the school? I think we should. It shows a pattern of people complaining about him and his doings as a police officer. IMO

I don't think they're irrelevant, but neither is the fact he worked as long as he did at two schools and has NO record of getting physical with kids.

 

[bluesneakers]

Should we not take into account complaints away from the school? I think we should. It shows a pattern of people complaining about him and his doings as a police officer. IMO

I assume we're free to sleuth him and share whatever we find.

 

[kimlynn]

I don't think they're irrelevant, but neither is the fact he worked as long as he did at two schools and has NO record of getting physical with kids.

No record that we know of. How do you suppose he got the nickname of Slam? The only reason the shi* hit the fan in this case was due to video taken by the students.
Schools and LE are great at fobbing off people with concerns. IMO

 

[Hope4More]

In the video to me it looks like the girl didn't even have time to comply before the officer swooped in... He just went to her seat and grabbed her up.

Just not true. Kids pulled out their phones to record AFTER Fields had told her 5 times to stand up and exit the class room and she refused, and AFTER Fields moved desks to clear a space to handle her.

Its interesting that the other kids in class tried to convince her to leave the class when the VP was on his way. They got it. They tried to help her help herself. She didn't respond to the kids either. The teacher watched that too. If I were the teacher I would have been beyond alarmed at that point.

 

[kimlynn]

Just not true. Kids pulled out their phones to record AFTER Fields had told her 5 times to stand up and exit the class room and she refused, and AFTER Fields moved desks to clear a space to handle her.

Its interesting that the other kids in class tried to convince her to leave the class when the VP was on his way. They got it. They tried to help her help herself. She didn't respond to the kids either. The teacher watched that too. If I were the teacher I would have been beyond alarmed at that point.

Do you think it was because she was new to the school that she wasn't aware of what would happen when the officer was called?
I wonder if she was even aware about the cell phone rule.

 

[kimlynn]

Just not true. Kids pulled out their phones to record AFTER Fields had told her 5 times to stand up and exit the class room and she refused, and AFTER Fields moved desks to clear a space to handle her.

Its interesting that the other kids in class tried to convince her to leave the class when the VP was on his way. They got it. They tried to help her help herself. She didn't respond to the kids either. The teacher watched that too. If I were the teacher I would have been beyond alarmed at that point.

Do you have a link to Fields asking the student 5 times to stand. Thanks.

 

[IzzyBlanche]

Just not true. Kids pulled out their phones to record AFTER Fields had told her 5 times to stand up and exit the class room and she refused, and AFTER Fields moved desks to clear a space to handle her.

Its interesting that the other kids in class tried to convince her to leave the class when the VP was on his way. They got it. They tried to help her help herself. She didn't respond to the kids either. The teacher watched that too. If I were the teacher I would have been beyond alarmed at that point.

Do you have a source for this not? Not doubting you, I would just like to view/read it for myself. Thanks.

 

[Sonya610]

We all need to remember this minor was NOT required to attend school past the age of 16, it was voluntary at her age!

If she didn't want to be in that class why in the heck was she there? IMO the laws need to be changed, if 16 year olds are considered mature enough to STOP attending school then they should either follow the rules or risk being banned from the public schools.

 

[kimlynn]

Do you have a source for this not? Not doubting you, I would just like to view/read it for myself. Thanks.

And she was asked by the officer 5 times to stand?

 

[bluesneakers]

Please provide links to these multiple cases you mention. Unless the Sheriff and Fields' attorney are lying to national media, he in fact has NO cases against him from the school district that relate in any way to excessive force.

Ben Fields, Officer Seen Manhandling Student, Has Been Sued Twice Before

In 2007, a motorist accused Richland County Deputy Ben Fields of using excessive force when he was a rookie cop in Columbia, South Carolina. In a second case, expected to go to trial in January, Fields is one of 10 defendants answering a student's charge that he was wrongly expelled from the same high school where Monday's altercation took place.

S.C. school officer Ben Fields' career marked with lawsuits, praise

According to the complaint, Carlos Edward Martin was driving home and got out of his car when Fields approached him and asked whether he was the source of an excessive noise complaint that the officer was investigating.

Martin claimed that Fields "slammed him to the ground, cuffed him, began kicking him, and chemically maced him until his clothing was drenched and the contents of the can of mace was [sic] depleted," according to court documents.

In that lawsuit, former Spring Valley High School student Ashton James Reese claims he was unlawfully expelled from school in 2013. At the time, Fields was investigating alleged gang activity at the school.

 

[bluesneakers]

And she was asked by the officer 5 times to stand?

Is that true? I didn't hear him say that.

 

[bluesneakers]

No record that we know of. How do you suppose he got the nickname of Slam? The only reason the shi* hit the fan in this case was due to video taken by the students.
Schools and LE are great at fobbing off people with concerns. IMO

The girl who was interviewed said they all took out their phones because they knew what was coming. How would they know what to expect if they hadn't seen him in action previously?

 

[katydid23]

Ben Fields, Officer Seen Manhandling Student, Has Been Sued Twice Before



S.C. school officer Ben Fields' career marked with lawsuits, praise

And the jury found him NOT GUILTY in the first case. Just because someone sues you it does not mean you are guilty.

The second case is still ongoing. He is one of TEN defendants that accused a student of being a gang member. The student denies he is a gang member. I am sure there were reasons that the SRO thought the student was an active gang member. Was he mistaken? POssibly. But that does not make him 'violent.'


So we have ONE CASE from 2007, where the court sided with him. And one where he is one of ten people, being sued by a disgruntled student. And it is not about excessive force.

 

[kimlynn]

Is that true? I didn't hear him say that.

I missed anyone saying that so not sure but it was posted above so maybe we both missed it.lol
I made use (edited) of my double post to ask for a link.

 

[CCmakes3]

Do you think it was because she was new to the school that she wasn't aware of what would happen when the officer was called?
I wonder if she was even aware about the cell phone rule.

I would think that most kids who had attended any school at all would be aware that teachers can get varying degrees of pissy if you are using your cell phone in their class. Most kids will have an "oh $hit" reaction when called out for it. If not at that point, at least when the principal is called. If not then, AT LEAST when the SRO is called. I gotta hand it to this girl, she's got nerves of steel! If my son gets called out for talking or not paying attention he is still shaken up about it when he gets in the car at the end of the day. Often he has some BS story about how he wasn't REALLY doing anything, but he chooses to accept the supposed "injustice" and comply and fly under the radar for the rest of the day. This seems more typical to me than what the student in this case did.

 

[Hope4More]

Do you have a source for this not? Not doubting you, I would just like to view/read it for myself. Thanks.

I can't post links from my phone, sorry, but it was a Washington Post article titled "SC Sheriff fired...." The WP is a subscription site, but I'm sure the article has been reposted.

 

[CCmakes3]

The girl who was interviewed said they all took out their phones because they knew what was coming. How would they know what to expect if they hadn't seen him in action previously?

Interesting that they all chose to use their phones to film and not one chose to text a parent saying "I'm scared." Says something disturbing about our passively voyeuristic society.