Disturbing video shows school officer violently forcing seated student to ground

Videos circulating online appears to show a student at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina being pushed to the ground by a school resource officer in a violent confrontation.

The videos show a man in uniform grabbing the student by the arm and the neck before dragging her out of her desk and shoving her to the ground.

https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/658746548076027904

“The student was told she was under arrest for disturbing school and given instructions which she again refused,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott told WISTV. “The video then shows the student resisting and being arrested by the SRO.” Police are investigating the incident.

A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s office confirmed to Fusion that the man in the video is Spring Valley High resource officer Ben Fields. The spokesperson said he has been placed on administrative duty while the investigation takes place.

The student in the video and another student who was filming the incident were arrested, the Sheriff’s office said. They released a statement yesterday:

Sheriff Leon Lott is out of town attending a Law Enforcement conference -– he did see the video and was very disturbed by it. He has questions like everyone has -– and he wants answers and once he has those answers he will address them. The Sheriff is asking for everyone to be patient as this is being fully investigated.

The Sheriff and the School District will take the appropriate action necessary once this investigation is complete – All SRO’s are at the schools for the safety of all students – these SRO’s are held to a very high standard. The Sheriff fully understands the seriousness of this incident

One student, Aaron Johnson, who says he was in the classroom when the incident happened tweeted about what he saw:

The girl in the video was new to our class, and she was quiet like she never talked to anyone

— Aaron Johnsøn (@Aaron___J) October 26, 2015

@DianaChhun @Ace_doe i think we were all in shock and afraid they would say something to us, he put another girl in handcuffs for standingup

— Aaron Johnsøn (@Aaron___J) October 26, 2015

@Ace_doe I WAS HERE AND NOBODY EVEN KNEW WHAT SHE DID WHEN HE GRABBED HER THATS HOW FUCKE UP IT WAS

— Aaron Johnsøn (@Aaron___J) October 26, 2015

The officer came in because she wouldnt leave the class when the teacher toild her to. I still don’t know what she did to be asked to leave.

— Aaron Johnsøn (@Aaron___J) October 27, 2015

The teacher was really quiet when discussing whatever she did. Whatever she did couldnt have been that bad because nobody knew what it was

— Aaron Johnsøn (@Aaron___J) October 27, 2015

https://twitter.com/Aaron___J/status/658844865631940608

Some former students of the school allege that they have witnessed Officer Fields using excessive force before:

https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/658766070250119168

WISTV reported that the school confirmed the incident today, but did not give further details.

The Richland Two Black Parents Association, which includes some parents at the school, released a statement, the local news outlet reported:

Parents are heartbroken as this is just another example of the intolerance that continues to be of issue in Richland School District Two particularly with families and children of color. As we have stated in the past, we stand ready to work in collaboration to address these horrible acts of violence and inequities among our children.

Spring Valley High School did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Richland Two School District Superintendent Debbie Hamm said in a statement, “Our District is deeply concerned about an incident that occurred at Spring Valley High School today.” She said the school district is also investigating.