Posted by ~ Sheldon Redditt on 11/01/2015
By now you all have seen the videos of Deputy Ben Fields, the school resource officer who yanked a female student from her desk and slammed her to the ground before throwing her several feet across the room. I watched in shock that a "man" would handle a little girl in this manner. What man would do this to a woman, let alone a young girl? This young girl posed absolutely no threat to this officer. After the story broke, people immediately began to come to the defense of this "man" and I use that term loosely. People said that she got what she deserved and pointed out that if she would have simply followed the rules and turned in her cell phone to her teacher or Principal, then this would have never happened. I was shocked and appalled to see a lot of parents defending the action of this Officer. These parents repeatedly noted that kids these days are out of control, don't listen and they have no respect. Albeit, I agree that there is a lack of discipline but this is not the way to correct the problem. Parents reiterated that since she didn't follow the rules, she got exactly what she deserved. But I was blown away when I read that he deserves an award.
Victim X 2
It is really sad that in this country we seem to always victimize the victim. Everyone seems to lead with the thought, "What did they do wrong to cause this to happen to them?". People neglect to look at the facts, even when they are right in front of them or in this case on video. Officer Ben Fields was fired but now he MUST be charged with abuse of a child. As a Deputy Sheriff he took an oath to serve and protect, not to try to break a girls neck. This young girl refused to turn in her cell phone. That's it. She didn't have a gun or a knife and she wasn't attacking other students. She refused to follow a rule. Now for those of you who say this monster was justified in his actions. You need to have your head checked. What teenager do you know that doesn't break rules? What teenager do you know who doesn't have a bad attitude at times? Did you not break a rule or two when you were a teenager? Did you not talk back a time or two, to your parents or teachers? Did an officer come and grab you out of your desk, slam you to the ground, toss you around like a bowling ball and then arrest you? Officers are trained to deal with these situations. But the way Officer Fields handled this incident does not align with his training. It is his job to be professional at ALL times. It does not matter what that young girl said to him. His job was to interact with her in a professional manner, period. It blows me away that anyone could look at any of those three videos and say that he was justified in his actions.
A Higher Standard
I recall being suspended for my behavior a couple of times when I was a Law Enforcement Officer. One suspension followed after I had an inmate throw feces, mixed with urine, in my face. The other suspension followed after I arrested a well known judge for driving under the influence and he spit in my face. In both of those instances, I was suspended for 30 days without pay. You know why? Because my superiors didn't care what the suspects did. They were concerned about MY ACTIONS. I was supposed to be the professional, I took the oath to serve and PROTECT. In the words of one of my former Sergeants, "If people didn't break the rules, there would be no need for Law Enforcement. Our job is to deal with people in a professional manner, period. We are not the judge and jury." That being said, the actions of this teenage girl should not come into play. It doesn't really matter what she said or did. The actions of the officer should be questioned. She could have been cussing at him all day long for all we know, but it doesn't matter. Question his actions. Did he handle it in a professional manner? His job is to deal with unruly people. This is what he was trained for. And to you parents who justified his actions. Imagine if that was YOUR CHILD in that video, being yanked out of his or her desk, slammed to the ground and then tossed across the room before being arrested, not for breaking the law but a school rule. Could you imagine all of that, simply because he or she refused to turn in their cell phone? How would you feel then? Would you say, well he or she got what they deserved or would you DEMAND JUSTICE? This is my truth. What's yours?
