Deputy Who Assaulted SC Student Publicly Shamed By His Boss

Now-former deputy Ben Fields assaulting the girl (image courtesy Shaun King, New York Daily News)
Now-former deputy Ben Fields assaulting the girl (image courtesy Shaun King, New York Daily News)

The South Carolina sheriff’s deputy who was caught on tape violently assaulting a student at a Columbia high school has been fired, and could potentially face federal civil rights charges.

You may recall that on Monday, Richland County Senior Deputy Ben Fields was called into a classroom at Spring Valley High School to deal with a disruptive 16-year-old girl who wouldn’t stop talking on her cell phone. Fields was called in after the teacher and an assistant principal couldn’t get the girl to leave the room. Fields pulled the girl out of her desk and threw her across the room before handcuffing her. The video quickly went viral, and drew demands that Fields be fired.

Earlier today, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott did just that. Watch the full press conference here.

Lott said that a 48-hour internal investigation found that Fields acted in a manner that “was not based on the training and was not acceptable.” According to Lott, Fields actually handled the situation by the book until he “lost control” of the girl by throwing her across the room. In a colossal understatement, Lott said that Fields “did wrong” on Monday.

When I initially heard that the review would only take 48 hours, my visceral reaction was that there was actually a chance Fields would keep his job. But Lott said that for him, firing Fields was an easy call. The minute he saw the girl flying across the room, Lott said, “that’s when I made my decision.” The impression I get is that Lott wanted Fields gone as soon as he saw that video, but was looking for a way to do so that wouldn’t expose his department to a lawsuit. He actually applauded those who videotape his deputies in action, saying that citizens should “police the police.”

Lott appears to be swimming against the culture in Richland County. Somehow, the teacher and the administrator both concluded that this now-former deputy didn’t use excessive force. According to Lott, the two educators believed that Fields “did what was necessary.” Au contraire, said Lott. He believed Fields could have handled the situation “without some of the actions he did.”

Lott said that when he told Fields that he was fired, Fields admitted that he probably would have handled the situation differently. However, Fields felt he was only trying to do his job. His attorney, Scott Hayes, kept up this line on CNN, saying that Fields believes he was acting “within the legal threshold.” Lott didn’t see it that way, saying that what happened was “not what I tolerate from my deputies.”

Sadly, Lott couldn’t leave well enough alone. He said that the girl “started this whole incident with her actions,” though he added that the girl’s behavior “doesn’t justify what our deputy did.” No one disputes that that this girl was being disruptive. But whatever this girl may have done, this deputy was 1,000 percent wrong. Lott should have left it at that.

Incredibly, the girl is facing misdemeanor charges of disturbing school. Lott says that case will continue. I find that hard to understand. Remember, Lott has just admitted that Fields’ actions were out of line. Lott has also asked the FBI and Justice Department to determine if his now-former deputy’s actions amounted to federal civil rights violations. In light of these factors, any criminal case against this girl would not be credible.

Firing Fields is only the first part of what needs to be done about Monday’s travesty. By all means, Fields should be before a judge. But it sounds like the people of Richland County need to do a serious rethink on what they consider to be acceptable behavior from a law enforcement officer. If anyone, let alone two educators, thinks what this deputy did was “reasonable force,” something is very rotten in the state of Richland County.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.