On October 25^th, in Columbia, South Carolina, a disruptive female African American student from Spring Valley High School was thrown from her desk by Richland County Sr. Deputy Ben Fields.  The episode first started after the 18 year old senior, whose name has not been released, would not put her phone up during class after being told to do so by both the teacher and the administrator.  Deputy Fields was then called to the scene at 10:30am, and, after she refused to put her phone away again, Fields told her she was under arrest.  Upon resisting arrest, the student was flipped over backwards in her desk and thrown across the room.  The officer ordered her hands behind her back and applied handcuffs. Afterwards, the student was said to have encountered minor back and neck injuries and rug-burn on her forehead.  A second female, Niya Kenny, was also arrested by Fields after “verbally objecting” his actions. According to Kenny, she felt that she “had to say something”. This disturbing experience was caught on film by multiple other students in the classroom and has gone viral on many social media outlets.

Students that were in the classroom are speaking out declaring how “surprising” and “hard to watch” this event was. Looking farther into Ben Fields’ records, it was found that he has been accused of using excessive force three prior times, one of which, a trial is still set for January for racially profiling a student.

As expected, this has become an exceptionally controversial issue.  Did this develop as a result of racial differences? Did Fields have the authority to act the way he did? Should people who disrupt classrooms and break laws be called the victims?  As time presses on, more and more videos are leaked to the public displaying the scene.  Some videos even depict the student back-talking the officer and refusing to comply with anything he says before any physical action had taken place.

A group of about 100 black and white students walked out of a classroom on Friday to show their support for Fields.  They wore T-shirts displaying words like “Free Fields” and gathered in the atrium at 10:00am.  Their goal was to show administrators, and the rest of the world, their views against the firing of Deputy Ben Fields.

Many people are questioning whether or not Deputy Fields’ actions are justifiable.  Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott claimed that Fields did not use the proper procedure. However, that comment brought up yet another controversial point.  How is one supposed to act differently towards an unruly student? If every act committed in society went unpunished, what would society be like? Whatever the case, it can be said that the technology filled world of today allows for more heated debate worldwide.