Attorney defends actions of fired school officer

[Romanos]

(CNN)An attorney for the South Carolina officer fired for slamming a student to the ground and tossing her several feet says his client's actions were "justified and lawful."

Video of the arrest sparked widespread outrage and questions about what role police should play in schools.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott suspended Deputy Ben Fields after the incident, and fired him Wednesday.

http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/28/us/south-carolina-school-arrest-videos/

 

[Ruth]

I saw the video on tv several times. I didn't know it was a girl who was abused there. I'm glad his actions were caught on video and that he was fired.

 

[MarkFL]

It's kind of hard to really tell what happened from the video, but I agree that the student has some responsibility here. From what I gathered, her teacher asked her to surrender her phone, because she was likely playing with it during class. She refused. Instead of being manhandled, she should have been put up for administrative disciplinary action, such as suspension or expulsion.

 

[Lamb]

Was that the reason? She was using a phone? :nono:

I used to be a substitute teacher and I learned right away to choose your battles wisely. Cell phone usage was one that I knew I'd never win, so I stopped trying. Too many other teachers and subs came down very hard on students for using cell phones and it wasted class time. I know their reasoning for not wanting kids to use their cell phones, like during tests of course, but c'mon. Teachers use them in front of the students, something I chose to NOT do!! Except once and I apologized immediately to everyone since it was an emergency call I had to take.

 

[psalms 91]

No one was in any danger, the officer was not being attacked. His actions were not justified and he should have been fired. Was she wrong, of course but she did not deserve that

 

[tango]

The trouble with many situations like this that nobody knows the full story except the people who were there, both the people directly involved will believe their actions were reasonable, and as soon as we get into trial by media or trial by public opinion all that happens is that the process generates lots of heat and very little light.

 

[psalms 91]

The pictures were very clear, she was sitting, she had no weapon, she was passive even when attacked by this man, pretty clear to me

 

[tango]

The pictures were very clear, she was sitting, she had no weapon, she was passive even when attacked by this man, pretty clear to me

... which is all well and good but sometimes pictures and videos don't tell the full story. Since I wasn't there I'd be more inclined to just say I don't know than trust whatever pictures were released by a media outlet that may or may not be trying to push an agenda.

 

[MarkFL]

The pictures were very clear, she was sitting, she had no weapon, she was passive even when attacked by this man, pretty clear to me

What I meant by being unclear on what happened is not seeing all the events that led up to where the video began. However, I still think the action taken by the deputy was excessive if the student did not have a potentially lethal weapon. By the same token though, I simply don't feel I have enough information given by the video to say anything driven by reason rather than emotion.

 

[visionary]

The officer was called in because of the unruly, disrespectful behavior to three school officials. When he went to her desk to escort her, she struck him, and when he got a hold of her arm to lift her out of the desk she thrust her body back causing the desk to fly back as shown in the video. Not all things appear like what really went down. Officer shouldn't have been fired.

 

[Brighten04]

We discussed this last night in Bible study. It is a good thing that these are not Old Testament days because if it was the whole classroom would have been required to stone her. But we live in this lawless politically correct age where the teacher is afraid of the principal. The principal is afraid of the school board. The school board is afraid of the parents. The parents are afraid of the children.AND THE CHILDREN ARE NOT AFRAID OF ANYBODY! So the question was asked" If you were the cop, how would you have handled it? The girl had been asked to leave by three times to leave the classroom. They were of increasing levels of authority.The officer was going to arrest her. How was he suppose to get her out of the desk to make the arrest? It was a funny exercise, because a lot of people thought the officer was so wrong but had no better alternative to getting the girl out of the desk. He should not, could not taze her. He should not, could not pepper spray her. Someone suggested that they could have taken her out in the desk. Well, maybe, but what if she got hurt while they were moving her? Someone suggested that they could have called her parents. My point on this is she probably acts this way at home with her parents. Someone else suggested calling a female cop. Well, then it would be a female cop throwing her against the room. So we all left with a little more compassion for the cop in the situation, and not so much sympathy for the girl.


It is illegal here for students to bring cell phones to school. My nephew took his cell phone to school, they called the cops and the cops confiscated the phone, took it too the police station and called mother to pick it up from the police station.It was a warning. If it happened again he would be arrested because having it at school is illegal.

 

[visionary]

We discussed this last night in Bible study. It is a good thing that these are not Old Testament days because if it was the whole classroom would have been required to stone her. But we live in this lawless politically correct age where the teacher is afraid of the principal. The principal is afraid of the school board. The school board is afraid of the parents. The parents are afraid of the children.AND THE CHILDREN ARE NOT AFRAID OF ANYBODY! So the question was asked" If you were the cop, how would you have handled it? The girl had been asked to leave by three times to leave the classroom. They were of increasing levels of authority.The officer was going to arrest her. How was he suppose to get her out of the desk to make the arrest? It was a funny exercise, because a lot of people thought the officer was so wrong but had no better alternative to getting the girl out of the desk. He should not, could not taze her. He should not, could not pepper spray her. Someone suggested that they could have taken her out in the desk. Well, maybe, but what if she got hurt while they were moving her? Someone suggested that the could have called her parents. My point on this is she probably acts this way at home with her parents. Someone else suggested calling a female cop. Well, then it would be a female cop throwing her against the room. So we all left with a little more compassion for the cop in the situation, and not so much sympathy for the girl.


It is illegal here for students to bring cell phones to school. My nephew took his cell phone to school, they called the cops and the cops confiscated the phone, took it too the police station and called mother to pick it up from the police station.It was a warning. If it happened again he would be arrested because having it at school is illegal.

I understand that she recently became an orphan so no parents... transition is hard.

 

[Brighten04]

I understand that she recently became an orphan so no parents... transition is hard.

So she is grieving. That indeed can be tough on a kid. Be that as it may, she should not be allowed to disrupt the classroom, or disrespect the teacher. That sets a bad precedent and example for the other students. And if she should be allowed to do it, everybody should be allowed to do it. So what do you have when no student is required to obey or respect the rules of the classroom or the the teachers and principals? You have anarchy in the school. I am not giving her a pass on this. I hate that she is going through the grief of losing parents. And she is probably angry about having to be in foster care, but, don't be disruptive in the classroom. I know kids don't think things through a lot of times. But this is no excuse for disrupting the classroom like that.. Her grief does not make it alright.

 

[psalms 91]

So she is grieving. That indeed can be tough on a kid. Be that as it may, she should not be allowed to disrupt the classroom, or disrespect the teacher. That sets a bad precedent and example for the other students. And if she should be allowed to do it, everybody should be allowed to do it. So what do you have when no student is required to obey or respect the rules of the classroom or the the teachers and principals? You have anarchy in the school. I am not giving her a pass on this. I hate that she is going through the grief of losing parents. And she is probably angry about having to be in foster care, but, don't be disruptive in the classroom. I know kids don't think things through a lot of times. But this is no excuse for disrupting the classroom like that.. Her grief does not make it alright.

Nor does his action, I see it as a vast overeaction to what was actually going on, suspension would have been the alternative

 

[Brighten04]

Nor does his action, I see it as a vast overeaction to what was actually going on, suspension would have been the alternative

Agreed, however, all of it could have been avoided if she had just complied with the request from the teacher to put away her cell phone. I am sure they probably did suspend her. But if the principal had said to her while she was sitting there in the desk "You are suspended for such and such days." She could have still refused to leave the classroom. So I don't see that as an alternative to getting her out of the desk and out of the classroom.

 

[Lamb]

Another idea would have been to ask the other students in the classroom to leave the room one by one and stand in the hallway leaving the offending student alone. She wanted control...remove her control. Never touch a student, even when attacked you don't strike back. That's someone else's little darling :baby:

 

[tango]

Another idea would have been to ask the other students in the classroom to leave the room one by one and stand in the hallway leaving the offending student alone. She wanted control...remove her control. Never touch a student, even when attacked you don't strike back. That's someone else's little darling :baby:

... which is all well and good but still leaves one spoiled brat disrupting the education of everyone else in the class. If everyone is standing in the hallway waiting for one person to decide it's time to play by the rules how do they learn anything?

 

[Lamb]

... which is all well and good but still leaves one spoiled brat disrupting the education of everyone else in the class. If everyone is standing in the hallway waiting for one person to decide it's time to play by the rules how do they learn anything?

Life lesson without it ending violently.

 

[Brighten04]

Another idea would have been to ask the other students in the classroom to leave the room one by one and stand in the hallway leaving the offending student alone. She wanted control...remove her control. Never touch a student, even when attacked you don't strike back. That's someone else's little darling :baby:

So just let her have her way? Is this the way to teach discipline? I think not.It has been many many years since I was in school. But my parents told me that they had better not get a call from the school saying I was misbehaving in the classroom. I mean they put the fear of God in me. Our teachers back then used corporal punishment. I was afraid of the teacher. I was more afraid of the principal. And I was most afraid of my parents. I heard some of the students saying they should not have to be afraid of the cops. Well imho they need to be afraid of something. If not, they might as well give the asylum to the inmates.

 

[Brighten04]

Life lesson without it ending violently.

That is not what God says.

Proverbs 22:15 Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

Now she and the rest of the students have learned something.

Obey your elders or it could end badly for you.