Joining the many talking heads discussing the termination of school resource officer Ben Fields for his excessive handling of a Black student at a South Carolina high school, two Fox 26 Houston guests squared off in a fiery debate that reveals everything that's wrong with how Black communities are portrayed in America.
Todd Rutherford, the attorney for 16-year-old Shakara (last name withheld), spoke to reporters on Thursday about the student's version of events. Rutherford says Shakara put her phone away but refused to leave class because she believed the punishment didn't coincide with the crime.
The actions of a resource officer at a South Carolina high school has experts examining inconsistencies in law enforcement training.
A lawyer for the 16-year-old student at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina who was seen in a viral video being flipped over in her desk by a school resource officer, says the girl suffered injuries from the attack and lives in foster care.
The students at Spring Valley High School are on the road to getting criminal records in what Rashad Robinson, executive director of online civil rights group ColorOfChange.org, calls the "perfect example of the school-to-prison pipeline."
Richland County Senior Deputy Ben Fields has been terminated from his position as a resource officer at Spring Valley High in Columbia, SC after throwing a teenager from her desk for using a cell phone in class.
The South Carolina deputy who addressed reporters Tuesday afternoon doesn't believe resource officer Ben Fields is racist because of his romantic relationship with a Black woman.
Soon after the video was uploaded and gained national attention, Fields was placed on administrative leave. On Tuesday afternoon, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced that Fields was suspended without pay.
The Justice Department is set to open a federal civil rights investigation following the emergence of a now-viral video showing a school resource officer slamming and dragging a Black female student across the classroom.
