The South Carolina police officer seen in an Internet video yanking a girl from her classroom seat has been fired.
Ben Fields, 34, who was called to the Spring Valley High School classroom Monday by school officials after the girl reportedly refused to put away her cell phone, was terminated early Wednesday, with the sheriff saying he failed to follow proper procedures and training.
After the unidentified student refused to follow Fields’ instructions to put the phone down and to leave class, he tried to pull her from her chair and ended up throwing her across the room. During the altercation, the student was told that she was under arrest.
“I can tell you what he should not have done: He should not have thrown that student,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said during a news conference.
Calls for Fields’ dismissal began soon after the video – which was recorded by another student — went viral.
Students said the confrontation started when the girl pulled out her cellphone and refused her math teacher’s attempt to take it from her.