Hamilton County SRO’s work to avoid South Carolina like controversy

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee(WDEF) – The cell phone video showing a South Carolina school resource officer slamming a female student to the ground has sparked both outrage and debate among News 12 viewers who watched a video link of the incident on Facebook.

While many News 12 viewers and followers either sided with the deputy or said the deputy went too far, others debated over how a situation involving a disruptive student should be handled.

In response to many of those comments, News 12 consulted with Lieutenant Shaun Shepherd of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office. Shepard spent many years working as a school resource officer and now he supervises all the SRO’s that are employed through the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.

Prior to talking to News 12, the lieutenant viewed the South Carolina video that everyone is talking about.

"No officer wakes up that day and decides that this is the day that I’m going to be on national television doing something unfortunately that may have a negative connotation on them and also their agency or the school itself," Shepherd said.

He explained how Hamilton County SRO’s deal with disruptive students by first saying SRO’s don’t initially get involved in school violations without following a chain of procedures.

"What they will try to do is allow the teacher to have classroom control. They’ll move to the administrator. If by chance the administrator is not able to make a resolution then they’ll call the SRO to get involved."

Many News 12 followers on Facebook who viewed the video were disturbed by the way Deputy Ben Fields of the Richland County Sheriff’s Office slammed the girl then threw her across the room. Some viewers and followers felt that a man should not physically handle a female in that manner, even if she was not obeying his official commands to leave the room. News 12 asked Shepherd if Hamilton County deputies physically take females into custody the same way males are taken into custody.

"Most often, the officer will try not to go hands on; command presence and requested commands the officers verbally gives are most often what we want them to respond to. Occasionally, we do have to actually place our hands on that person to secure them or gain control of them if their struggling or resisting. That would be for a male or female," Shepherd said.

The Lieutenant also has some advice for all young students.

"Whether you disagree with the officer or the teacher of the administrator, just follow the instructions. Give it another opportunity. Find an opportunity to talk to someone else and get a listening ear to hear your side of the conflict and try to deal with it peacefully."

Updated Information on Deputy Ben Fields:

The FBI has started a formal investigation into Deputy Fields after the video of him slamming the girl went viral. According to published reports, the incident started when the girl refused to leave the classroom after disrupting class.

According to published reports, the federal investigation comes in the wake of new evidence showing Deputy Fields has a history of violence against minorities and disabled citizens.

          

According to Beforeitsnews.com, Deputy Fields has been described by many as ‘The Hulk’, due to his muscular appearance. His critics say he uses that to intimidate students who do not listen. (In the picture above, Deputy Fields is shown bench pressing an estimated 600 pounds). Richland Two Black Parents Association founder, Stephen Gilchrist, said that students have long claimed abuse and intimidation by Deputy Fields, but until now, they had no video evidence to back up those claims.

Deputy Fields is now on leave while authorities investigate his current altercation caught on camera as well as other allegations that have previously come up.