Officer Slam

Zachary Matthews
Robin DeRosa
Comp.
16 February 2016
Officer Slam
As many of us know the Police and Law Enforcement has been getting a lot more aggressive with the way they handle a situation. There was a specific altercation that had occurred at a Columbia High School that should be talked about. The incident had racial groups and parents in the community in an uproar. It all started at Spring Valley High School between a 16 year old African-American girl and her schools resource officer, Deputy Ben Fields. The altercation between the two went viral on Monday morning when a nearby student took out their phone and recorded the dispute. Here is a link to the altercation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBSrccdaqXo
Deputy Fields was called into a classroom to deal with a female that was “non-compliant and disrespectful”, or at least so he thought. What was really going on was the class was giving an assignment and told to do it on the computer. The 16 year old girl pulled out her phone after settling down and getting to work, and then was told by the teacher to give it to him. She said no because she wasn’t harming anyone or disrupting them. The teacher then called an administrator who proceeded to ask the girl to give up her phone. She still said no. That’s when Fields who is also known as “Officer Slam” had to be called. As seen in the video Fields asks the student to give him her phone twice. He then takes her Chrome book off the desk she’s at and places it on a student’s nearby. He then takes the 16 year old girl by her clothing and ejects her from it, tossing her a couple of feet away. He arrests her and one other girl in the class who had been recording the fight. After everything was said and done Deputy Fields was fired from his job.
There is a rising issue with police and citizens and this is a perfect example to use. Deputy Fields didn’t have to rip this young women out of her chair. The situation could have went a lot different if he just asked the girl to put her hands behind her back due to the fact she was being disruptive. If it were said like this, the girl would have to listen. If the girl then continued to say no, that would be resisting arrest and she would be going to jail no matter what. A student from the class was asked if he would ever trust a resource officer again. His reply was “I don’t think I could”. What the officer did didn’t only traumatize the girl he tossed, but also the other young adults that were in the class when it happened.It was brought to the public’s attention that a third video of the incident had been released. This video doesn’t justify what the cop did, but makes the viewer think about the cop’s job and what he goes through day by day. In the video you can see the officer throw the student and then proceed to arrest her. What is hard to see is in the scuffling she tries to throw punches. Is it self-defense? Or an act of anger to get free from the cop.
People from all over the world all have different point of views on the situation. Some believe that it’s okay to treat others like Deputy Fields did. Others thinks that assault. The one thing that we all know… There is going to be a dirty cop no matter where you go.