A video of a school police officer flipping a black female high school student on the ground is making the rounds online on Monday. The incident occurred at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, South Carolina.
According to local broadcast station WISTV, a school resource officer was responding to a girl who refused to leave class. A 15-second YouTube clip provided by the Daily Intelligencer shows the officer wrap his arm around the student’s neck and then flip her and her desk over. He then grabs the student and throws her from the desk, out of view of the camera. He can then be heard saying, “Put your hands behind your back.”
WISTV quotes Sheriff Leon Lott as giving this description: “The student was told she was under arrest for disturbing school and given instructions which she again refused. The video then shows the student resisting and being arrested by the SRO.” High school officials and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department are investigating the incident. (WISTV has longer videos that show more of what happened.)
A Spring Valley High School parents organization, the Richland Two Black Parents Association, has also released a statement:
“Parents are heartbroken as this is just another example of the intolerance that continues to be of issue in Richland School District Two particularly with families and children of color. As we have stated in the past, we stand ready to work in collaboration to address these horrible acts of violence and inequities among our children.”
(via Daily Intelligencer and WISTV)