This week national and international news covered the horrific story of school police officer (Ben Fields) dragging a young black girl out of her desk and onto the ground to be arrested. The incident is said to have taken place October 26 at Spring Valley High School ( Columbia, SC).
Many reports reveal the teacher called on the officer because of the unidentified teen’s “disruptive behavior”. Moreover, the teen girl was said to not turn in her cell phone when asked. However, even if this were to be the case, the way a police officer, a public servant, handled this situation was unethical and deserved termination.
People who claim ” the girl should’ve just listened” or ” she should follow the rules” obviously are equally the problem in this country when it comes to stories such as this. No fact finding from the teacher nor officer ever took place prior to the teen girl being dragged from her desk. Yet, post this assault, after hearing from the teens lawyer, we discovered that teen recently had been moved into foster care after the death of her mother.
Death.Of.Her.Mother.
Likewise, as anyone, especially a young girl who’s lost a parent and has to be placed into foster care, behavior changes will stem from these unfortunate circumstances. Now, on top of her recent mishaps, this girl will forever undergo the embarrassment of being dragged by ex-police officer Ben Fields (who by the way is the strengthening coordinator for the school’s football team).
Along with the unidentified teen girl, 18 year old Niya Kenny was arrested for standing up for the assaulted girl.
After watching the video, neither the assaulted teen nor Niya Kenny seemed to be combative, yet some people still feel the officer was ” legal and justified, including Ben Field’s lawyer.
Ask yourself this question (given all circumstances the same beside race):
If a black officer were to have done the same thing to two young white girls, would the same people claim the officer was “legal and justified”?
Regardless of one’s religion or race, every human, especially students, should be treated with respect and given due process before an incident such as Ben Field’s assault take place again.
Product Of Society 