Monday letters: Deputy didn’t ‘slide’ student; he threw her

I read with consternation the Dec. 18 article “National groups protest charges against Spring Valley girls,” which said that Richland County deputy Ben Fields removed the student from her chair and “slid her across the floor.” This characterization of the deputy’s action was an egregious statement of opinion and false at that.

To “slide” connotes a very different kind of movement than what people the world over witnessed as a white deputy sheriff throwing the body of an African-American minor across a classroom. I watched the video many times. The student did not resist Mr. Fields. I heard no sound at all from her when the violence occurred, which struck me as odd.

I applaud the quick-thinking students who captured the moment on their cellphones, including Niya Kenny, whose courage earned her the absurd charge of “disturbing schools.” If anyone disturbed school that day, it was Mr. Fields. His barbarism demands condemnation from all right-thinking South Carolinians.

This story was originally published January 11, 2016 at 5:04 AM.