Activist and writer Shaun King has obtained some very disturbing video taken discreetly by a student in a classroom in a Columbia, South Carolina high school. Spring Valley High School’s “resource” officer, identified as Officer Ben Fields, can be seen on the video, yanking a student from her desk and forcefully throwing her across the classroom. Even more disturbing is that the student is also visibly pregnant.
The tweets from current and former students have been steadily rolling in, and many say that this particular officer is well-known for violent outbursts, both verbal and physical. The victim of this violent assault was in no way a physical threat to the officer. Here is the video, courtesy of Shaun King’s Twitter:
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/658746548076027904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
The students, and even the teacher, in the video show little reaction to Officer Fields’ behavior. Both current and former students of Spring Valley High School and others familiar with this officer are also backing up those allegations via Twitter:
https://twitter.com/FakeAsian__/status/658746896656310272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
My old high school. We're trying to get him fired @GaziKodzo @ShaunKing https://t.co/gYqyWz5hUw
— St. Cloud (@_marystcloud) October 26, 2015
@ShaunKing wtf did he even accuse the student of? This is inhumanely brutal, let alone for someone so peaceful
— Dan Bogosian (@dlbogosian) October 26, 2015
https://twitter.com/ShaunKing/status/658753751889657856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Parents of students at the school who are rightfully concerned about Officer Fields’ behavior have released the following statement via local station WISTV:
“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,” the statement said. “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.”
Fields has deleted his Facebook and Twitter accounts since the video hit the internet.
Featured image via screen capture from Twitter
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