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Columbia, South
Carolina-based television station WLTX reported Fifth District
Solicitor Dan Johnson has also dismissed charges of disturbing
school that had been brought against the student and another
girl in the classroom who spoke out against the incident. The
deputy, who is white, was fired last year.
An attorney for the deputy and another lawyer who represented
the girl could not be reached for comment.
A video of the arrest in October 2015 at Spring Valley High
School in Columbia quickly went viral, reigniting concerns that
the proliferation of police in U.S. schools can criminalize
behavior once handled more quietly by school officials.
Ben Fields, then a Richland County sheriff's deputy assigned to
the school, could be seen in the video flipping the girl from
her chair to the floor and hurtling her across a classroom
before arresting her. Authorities said last year the girl had
refused educators' orders to put away her phone and leave the
class.
Johnson, in a letter to the South Carolina Law Enforcement
Division, wrote there was not probable cause to charge Fields
but that he did agree with the decision the local sheriff made
to fire him two days after the incident, according to WLTX.
In deciding against bringing charges, Johnson cited Fields'
perception of the situation with the student and her resistance
to him, according to WLTX.
Johnson, like the student, is African-American.
A representative for the prosecutor could not be reached for
comment.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Andrew
Hay)
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