Deputy Ben Fields — the South Carolina school resource officer who was filmed flinging a teenage girl to the ground for refusing to leave her classroom — has been fired. In a press conference Wednesday, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced the decision, and noted that the FBI and Department of Justice investigations into the incident are ongoing. Meanwhile, fury continues to mount across the country and on social media.
Pop-turned-Twitter icon Cher took issue with media coverage of the incident:
Teen girl in classrm thrown around like rag doll.Every1 on TV saying“we can’t see what she did b4 video”Who gives a flying Fk‼️She’s a CHILD
— Cher (@cher) October 27, 2015When one fan responded (however ungrammatically) that the teen girl “should’ve just listened” and “disserved everything that happened too her,” the singer replied:
@MonicahStone
“Heartless bitch…table for One”
— Cher (@cher) October 27, 2015Niya Kenny, an 18-year-old student who recorded the shocking video, told CNN that Fields had a reputation for using excessive force, and that she and the student seen in the viral clip have both been charged with “disturbing school.”
Though Lott said he had no intention of dropping charges against either student, he did express gratitude that the incident was filmed so that he could promptly respond. He agreed that it was disturbing and said that, as a father, the scene made him "want to throw up.”