Fired Richland school deputy wants his job back; sheriff says it won’t happen

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Friday he will not rehire a former deputy fired for hurling a disruptive high school student from her desk, despite his plea to be reinstated.

Former deputy Ben Fields acted within law enforcement guidelines when he pulled a then-Spring Valley High School student from her desk and she flew across a classroom floor during a confrontation in October 2015, Fields’ lawyer said Friday in a statement.

Fields, whose encounter was captured on video and ignited a state and national debate about police use of force in schools, should be reinstated as a deputy, said Columbia lawyer Scott Hayes.

“(T)he amount of force used by Mr. Fields during the incident was reasonably necessary,” Hayes wrote in a two-page response to last week’s report from 5th Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson, which said no one would be charged in the incident.

“The evidence in this case clearly establishes the fact that the student’s behavior willfully and unnecessarily interfered and disturbed the students and teachers of her Algebra class on October 26, 2015,” the defense attorney said.

In a statement, Sheriff Leon Lott rejected Fields request.

“The U.S. Attorney’s office, to my knowledge, has not determined if (Fields) will be charged with a civil rights violation,” Lott said of possible federal violations. “(Fields) will not be reinstated.”

Todd Rutherford, who represents the student, dismissed the ex-deputy’s proposal, saying it would be an embarrassment to rehire Fields.

“The entire world watched as officer Fields acted inappropriately,” Rutherford said. “The mere fact that his conduct did not rise to the level of criminal behavior does not mean that he should be allowed to be a law enforcement officer in this state, period. He should find another line of work.”

Yet, Hayes said, the fact that the student refused Fields’ commands to leave the classroom on her own and that she hit him more than once, justified the deputy’s decisions and did not violate any policy.

“Given the active aggression exhibited by the student during this incident, the control techniques that Mr. Fields used to bring the student under arrest resulted in minimal force,” he wrote.

The prosecutor announced a week ago that disturbing school charges against the student and related complaints against the student who urged students to videotape the encounter would not proceed.

Johnson also said that Fields’ firing before the investigation was completed tainted the criminal case, which also has been dropped.

This story was originally published September 9, 2016 at 1:32 PM with the headline "Fired Richland school deputy wants his job back; sheriff says it won’t happen."