American schools are, sadly, paranoid places. The proliferation of guns in the US and lack of gun control means that, all too frequently, there are police officers stationed inside schools. They’re meant to be there for pupils’ protection, but a problem is that, well, some members of the police, have particular biases against people of colour.
That’s how you have this: a distressing video of a girl at school being assaulted by a police officer, thought to be a ‘school resource officer’ who is placed there to protect students.
The girl had been asked to step outside of the lesson at Spring Valley high school in Columbia, South Carolina but refused. At this point, the officer stands over the desk and says, ‘C’mon, let’s go.’
He then grabbed the girl in a headlock and flipped her (and the chair) backwards. He then drags the girl around the room before pinning her face down with her hands behind her back.
Using force against a massive bloke – let alone a teenage girl – isn't OK. The footage, filmed by another student, sees the officer bark at a third student: ‘I’ll put you in jail next.’
Ben Fields, believed to be the deputy sheriff in the video, has been placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated.
According to the New York Daily News, Dr Debbie Hamm released a statement saying: ‘Student safety is and always will be the district’s top priority.
‘The district will not tolerate any actions that jeopardize the safety of our students.’
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.