Officer placed on unpaid leave following incident caught on camera

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — An officer pulls a student out her chair and throws her to the ground. That’s what you can see happening in a video being shared across social media nationwide. The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the school resource officer at Spring Valley High school in Northeast Richland County. The deputy is employed by the department. In the video, a school resource officer approaches a female sitting at a desk, appears to speak to her, then tugs her desk backwards, pulls her out of her chair and throws her to the ground. A student from across the classroom at Spring Valley High School filmed the incident and uploaded it on the internet. But just before air time, we were made aware of this video uploaded to Instagram. The different angle shows a whole new perspective. As the officer grabs the female, you can see her hit his neck. The community is demanding answers. “The sheriff was not happy with what he saw,” Richland County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Curtis Wilson says. “He was very disturbed by it. He wants answers as to what happened and what took place.” The Richland County Sheriff’s Office is investigating. R.C.S.D. employs the officer- Ben Fields- who’s been placed on unpaid leave. Authorities say the student in the video was being disruptive to the class. “The student was asked to leave several times by an instructor at the school,” Wilson says. “The assistant principal was there as well. Then the officer was called on scene to actually have the student removed from that location.” They say she refused. “Of course we’re gonna look at what happened that led up to it, that incident that took place, and then what happened afterwards. All of that is gonna take part in what the sheriff decides.” The female seen in the video was arrested and turned over to her parents. A different female, who says she spoke out against what was going on, was also arrested. 18-year-old Niya Kenny tells ABC Columbia it all started when the teacher asked the student to stop chewing gum. Kenny was booked into Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. Spring Valley is part of Richland County School District Two. Superintendent Dr. Debbie Hamm released a statement this afternoon, reading in part, “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.” The district is working in full cooperation with the sheriff’s department. Depending on the outcome, Richland Two has recommended Officer Fields not return to any school in the district. Lieutenant Wilson says they’ll be looking into Fields’ conduct history as a school resource officer. Fields is one of two at Spring Valley High School. Wilson says a substitute will be determined to take Fields’ place in his absence.