WATCH: Spring Valley ‘officer slam’ incident revisited as viral video resurfaces online

Viral video shows South Carolina cop manhandle a young student (Image via Twitter)
Viral video shows South Carolina cop manhandle a young student (Image via Twitter)

In October 2015, a Spring Valley High School student was roughly thrown out of class by a school police officer. She was allegedly made a victim of physical violence for not keeping her mobile phone away while in class.

When she was caught, the student, identified as Shakara, agreed to keep her phone away but refused to leave the class because she believed that to be "unfair punishment." Officer Ben Fields was called, who instead of resolving the situation verbally, assaulted the 16-year-old by upending her from the desk and then dragging her across the floor of the classroom.

A video of the incident filmed by another student at Spring Valley High School gained traction online, and Deputy Officer Ben Fields was fired from his position by the Richland County Sheriff's Office. Seven years later, the same video has gone viral on the internet, specifically on Reddit.

The Spring Valley video, which was posted a day ago, has ignited a discourse on Reddit, with people both condemning and defending the actions of the school authorities, including the teacher who had called the vice principal. While some users called the girl's behavior disruptive, most failed to understand how such a small crime could warrant such violent punishment.

Reddit users condemn Officer Fields for his violent actions
Reddit users condemn Officer Fields for his violent actions

Reddit user Mrs_Weaver said:

"They're claiming she was disruptive, when all she did was look at her phone. She put it away, but that wasn't good enough for the teacher. The teacher is the one who turned this into a classroom disruption. And for the officer to manhandle a child like that is disgusting. I certainly hope her family sued over this."
Reddit users condemn Officer Fields for his violent actions
Reddit users condemn Officer Fields for his violent actions

However, people have argued for the actions of the officer and the school authorities. User thehoesmaketheman argued:

"What the cr*p? Bro if a police officer says give me your phone you do it. Sorry there's rules. You enjoy a life every day built on those exact rules. The deck you walk on the bridge you drive over the food you eat. Many rules went into that and if those people refused to do it a gun or stiff arm is put in their face. And you soak it up. So don't for one second tell me some high school kid critically needed their phone or got picked out of the crowd at random. That person needed 10x that force."
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This horrific incident has resurfaced at a time when cases of police brutality are rampant and grave.


Looking back at the details of the 2015 Spring Valley High School case amidst renewed interest

In October 2015, a 16-year-old student was disciplined at Spring Valley High School when she was caught using her mobile phone in math class. The disciplinary episode, however, took a grave turn when the teacher called the vice principal and the school police officer.

According to Shakara's attorney, she did put her phone away, but refused to leave the class as the 16-year-old Black student felt that the punishment was "unfair". It was then that Officer Fields upended the student, dragged her roughly across the length of the classroom and made her leave the room. The incident left Shakara physically injured and mentally shaken.

Her attorney said:

"She’s bruised and battered and hurt — physically and emotionally. She wasn’t yelling. She wasn’t disrupting the class. She wasn’t a threat to anyone."

Days after the incident, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott fired the officer involved in the Spring Valley case for inappropriate force.

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