Posted on 10/27/2015 6:27:39 AM PDT by ScottWalkerForPresident2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A South Carolina school district banned a school resource officer pending an investigation after a video surfaced Monday showing him tossing a student across a classroom floor.
The video has since gone viral.
The incident, captured on cellphones of at least two students, occurred at Spring Valley High School in Columbia. School officials and sheriff's deputies said they are investigating what happened.
Deputy Ben Fields has been placed on administrative duties as authorities investigate his handling of the female student, Lt. Wilson said.
The video shows Fields asking a girl to rise from a classroom desk. Another adult is standing nearby. The girl stays seated, so the officer wraps a forearm around the child's neck. The officer then tips the attached chair and desk backward until she spills to the floor. The officer then drags the girl several feet across the floor, then tosses her, orders her to put her hands behind her back and applies handcuffs.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
I remember when teachers had control of their classrooms 60 years ago. One disruptive student got his face slapped so hard the teacher, a woman, just about knocked him into next week! He settled down after that.
I knew another woman teacher who took over a disruptive classroom in a one room school down in Texas. Her first words to the students were...
“I understand you all ran off the last teacher”.
She proceeded to pick up a big stick of firewood and said...
“Anyone wants to try and do that with me, COME ON!”
She never had a problem.
Frankly, you have pretty much summed it up. I subbed in Columbia area schools for several years, many as a full time sub in a high school. Suffice it to say, many students are not there to learn, but to socialize and disrupt. Discipline problems are rampant and many teachers are afraid to discipline or call students on classroom behavioral issues as they fear lawsuits.
I walked out on a classroom years ago, telling the principal when he came as a request to my call that they could dock my pay for the day as he needed someone else there. Understand—I was a full time sub there at that time and was capable of managing most classes. These students did not worry about discipline, refused to behave, called me racist, and picked up the papers that I’d handed out as part of the teacher’s lesson plan, putting them back on the desk saying that they’d already done them.
I’m guessing that the student was being disruptive and ruining the day for other students who might have been trying to do their work. Was the cop over the top? I would not speculate without more information. The student could have cooperated with the teacher first, but she did not. She continued to refuse to cooperate with the cop. That much is certain.
I am glad that I am away from the schools of today.
It’s also what happens when children are taught to defy and disrespect authority.
Since we don’t allow corporal punishment anymore, teachers and school administrators have a more difficult job nowadays.
So what exactly are they supposed to do with someone such as this girl, who refuses to cooperate?
Back in the day, such a student would have been forcibly dealt with, and then also gotten a spanking at home from the parents, for acting out in school. Nowadays, these disruptive kids know that nobody is allowed to touch them, and they push the envelope and behave accordingly.
Why are you talking about hood rats or gangstas? Was there one involved in this incident? You seem to know a lot more about the arrested girl’s situation than I do. Why don’t you provide a link, so that we can all see? Maybe you just know from looking at her.
Why would a put myself in the teacher’s position? I am not suggesting the teacher did anything wrong. The crisis appears to be the result of not showing sufficient respect for the badge, and the absolute authori-tae it commands.
I suspect that the teacher and the other students were more disrupted after this incident than before. Do you think the teacher and this school are going to handle the next situation like this the exact same way?
So if any hood rat or gangsta can go to school and disrupt class without consequences for their actions, what kind of school or learning environment do you think that will create? Should all the other 20 to 30 students in the class have to miss out on education because one wants to be an ass?
So put yourself in the teacher’s position. How would you have dealt with the situation?
Also, when an officer detains you and gives you a lawful order, what is the normal expectation of society? That the person should continue to resist? If not that then what?
So put yourself in the officers position. You have an unruly student who is disruptive to the class, who has been told to leave the room by the teacher, the vice-principle and then yourself (as the officer). What do you do to get the student out of the room?
Have you bothered to read any of the reports of this “student’s” behavior prior to the arrival of the cop?
I’d say taxcontrol’s characterization seems accurate.
I read the student was initially asked to leave the class for telling the teacher that she would not put away her phone. Then the teacher disciplined the student with a write-up for being disrespectful and disobedient. After being asked to leave again, and her refusing, an administrator came to remove her, she refused, and that is when johnnie law was called in.
Did the student misbehave and violate rules? Of course she did. But does that make her a hood rat or a gangsta? It seems to me that there must be more required than this misbehavior to meet the definition of hood rat or gansta.
Why don’t you tell me what other criteria you see being met when you looked at the video of Officer Fields assaulting the girl? What stands out in your mind to convince you she is a hood rat or gangsta?
I noticed you intentionally side stepped my questions, we will get back to that but for now, I will answer yours.
“hood rat” and “gangsta” are attitudes which this student is clearly displaying and has nothing to do with the race of the student.
The reason I ask you to put yourself in the teacher’s position is to get you to reflect on the reality of the situation that the teacher faces. The “crisis” did not start with “the badge”. The crisis started when a student failed to follow normal civil conduct, disrupted the classroom, failed to then leave that class room when the teacher and vice-principal told her to do so.
Since the student was given 3 opportunities to correct her behavior and then decided to escalate the situation by further none compliance, yes I do think the school not only will but SHOULD respond the same way.
While teaching for 16 years I was asked to assist the SRO several times to help subdue a "child" because they weren't going down without a fight. I have the scars to prove it.
Now, with all that said and done, this is what the SRO may walk into in any situation where a teacher calls for help in controlling a disruptive student.
Is this case excessive force? There are always two sides to a story and stories like this typically show the sensationalized side before the complete story comes out.
I'll wait for a week for the rest of the story to trickle out before I judge.
” I suspect that the teacher and the other students were more disrupted after this incident than before”
I very much doubt it.
.
Allowing any student to disrupt class without consequences for their actions would create a BAD learning environment. What the officer did here was not the best choice of consequences to be applied, which maybe the reason he has been suspended without pay.
The other 20 to 30 students should not have to miss out on education because one wants to be an ass. That is true whether “the one” refers to the student or the officer.
The teacher appears to have done what he was supposed to do. I never suggested otherwise.
When you suggest that you “think the school not only will but should respond the same way,” perhaps you are separating out the actions of the teacher and principal from those of the “resource officer.” Since the district has “banned the deputy in question from all District Two property,” you might be wrong about how those with the most information about what happened view the situation.
This whole thread is so silly.
This was still a juvenile, they make stupid choices. When cops are called they are not authorized to administer punishment. This cop punished the abhorrent behavior of this unruly, disruptive child. Did the child deserve it? I don’t know but it doesn’t matter it isn’t a cops job to administer punishment. Cops know how to deal with uncooperative people without punishment. He could have cuffed her behind her back and pulled up on the cuffs and she would have come right up to avoid the pain but the cop had his feelings hurt and had to show power and get revenge. The revenge might have been deserved but it is not his/her job to give revenge, just take the child away.
If the child had broken something when hitting the ground the school and the police force would be paying the girl to never have to work. Revenge by cop is stupid, they just need to do the job they are paid for and leave their “hurt” at home.
If she’s been asked to leave and doesn’t, she’s a trespasser. If a cop asks you to leave and you don’t, you’re still a trespasser and resisting arrest.
Perhaps you do not understand the sequence of events:
1) student becomes disruptive
2) teacher gives the student the option of either controlling themselves and stop the disruption OR leave the room.
3) student chooses to escalate the situation by continuing to be disruptive
4) teacher responds to the escalation by calling in the vice-principle
5) the vice-principle attempts to end the escalation and orders (per parentis-loco) the student out of the class room
6) the student then continues to escalate the situation by not compling with the VP’s instructions.
7) the VP then calls in the resource officer to gain control of the situation.
8) the officer tells the student that they now have two choices, comply on their own, or the student can further escalate the situation and then be forced to comply by physical force applied by the officer.
9) at this point the student continues to escalate the situation by not complying with the LAWFUL order of the police officer.
10) the officer then forcefully removes the student from the desk, restrains her and forcefully removes her from the classroom, restoring order.
So lets get back to the question that I asked earlier. What would you have done?
As someone who has trained police, including special weapons and tactics, I can tell that you have ZERO experience with attempting to handcuff someone who refuses to cooperate.
You ASSUME that the officer could have handcuffed her while she is sitting at the desk. First, that is very dangerous both to the individual and to the officer. The established safest procedure is to get the uncooperative person on the ground and apply the restraints then.
You ASSUME that the girl will comply due to the pain of having her arms forced up into the classic torture position. I can tell you that I have seen people who let their arms be broken before compliance. Her willful and intentional failure to resist arrest created a dangerous situation for all.
You ASSUME that the officer had his feelings hurt and that he wanted revenge. The truth is, he did NOT administer any punishment. He only removed her, put her to the ground, restrained her and removed her. No injuries were reported by the girl. Keep that in mind when you make your judgements ... the girl did not suffer a broken arm, sprains to her wrists, cuts or any of a host of other possible injuries the officer might have caused had he decided to take revenge.
Had the girl been injured (while resisting arrest) she like the thousands of others who choose to resist arrest, will likely never see a dime, will likely go to jail for her illegal acts, and will face the consequences of thousands in legal bills.
NO ONE has the right to resist lawful arrest!
Kids nowadays are mouthy. I’m sure it gets under the cops skin or any adult but they are supposed to be trained or rather you would think they are trained to deal with it.
There are other ways to deal with kids like they have to get out of the seat at the end of class go to another room. A lot less disruptive to snag them out in the hallway.
Years ago - - before liberals destroyed sane classrooms and schools - the top school offense was ‘gum chewing’ in class...
If that is the sequence of events from which you are operating, you are right that I don’t understand those to be the facts. My understanding is that this was a discipline issue regarding a cell phone the student looked at during class.
You repeat phrases like “student becomes disruptive” and “student chooses to escalate the situation by continuing to be disruptive” as if they convey facts. It reminds me of the way the South Park character’s Jimbo and Ned used “It’s coming right for us!” as an excuse to kill out of season and protected game due to self defense.
You indicate in your next post that you have experience training law enforcement officers. I imagine that the scenarios in which you trained them involved individuals being disruptive or escalating conflicts with the officers, but that does not mean it happened that way here. The “escalation” this student caused by sitting motionless in a school desk might seem to have been eclipsed by the officer’s response.
You can use all caps in reference to “not complying with a LAWFUL order” and to say “NO ONE has the right to resist lawful arrest!” and you can describe what this officer accomplished as “restoring order.” But when you do, you are going to lose the support of many conservative, law abiding people who think that every once in a while law enforcement officers go too far.
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