Watch: White officer brutally assaults African-American girl in South Carolina school
South Carolina: A video clip that captured a young African-American girl student being assaulted by a white police officer went viral on Monday. The incident, which took place in a Columbia classroom, shows a girl sitting at her desk and the officer grabbing the girl by her neck, dragging, flipping her towards the back and then throwing her on the floor.
The video was shot by students in the classroom and was later circulated on social media, leading to a massive debate and widespread anger among people. The video also gives rise to questions as to how police officers treat African-American students in the country.
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Leon Lott, the Richland country sheriff told a television channel in South Carolina that the officer was trying to ask a troublesome student at Spring Valley High School to leave the class, who refused to do so. About 52 per cent students in this school are black and nearly 30 per cent are white. The officials, however, did not reveal the name of the police officer or the student, but other students recognised the officer as Ben Fields.
Ben is listed on the school district website as one among the two officers who have been assigned to the school. The superintendent of Richland County School District Two, Debbie Hamm, said that the officials were disturbed by the incident and they are working in cooperation with the sheriff’s investigators. Officer Ben was also prohibited from working with any of the district schools until the investigations last, said Hamm.
No one can give a justification for treating a child the way Fields did. School is a place to learn, not to be brutalised, said Victoria Middleton, executive director for the South Carolina branch of the American Civil Liberties Union. She also quoted Fields actions as outrageous.
Ben Fields record shows a number of complaints registered against him in the past for violation of civil rights. The removal of Fields from his designated post is a top priority for the board, said Amelia B. McKie, a school board member.
The board needs to ensure that this does not happen in any of our schools ever again, she added.
