S.C. sheriff to reveal findings of probe into black student's arrest

A white South Carolina deputy who flipped a black high school student out of her classroom chair in an encounter caught on video could learn as soon as Wednesday whether he will be allowed to remain on the police force.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott will announce at noon the findings of his agency's internal investigation of the incident at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, a spokesman said.

Deputy Ben Fields, 34, was suspended without pay after videos filmed by students showed him slamming a 16-year-old girl to the ground on Monday and dragging her across a classroom after she apparently refused to hand over her mobile phone to a teacher.

The student, who Lott said struck the officer during the altercation, was arrested on a charge of disturbing schools.

Lonnie Randolph, president of the South Carolina chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Fields should be criminally charged.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department have opened a civil rights probe into the arrest, which prompted a hashtag #AssaultAtSpringValleyHigh and widespread outrage on social media and in Columbia after the video footage went viral.

Lott, who cut short a trip to a law enforcement conference to deal with the incident, promised on Tuesday the investigation into whether Fields followed department protocol for school resource officers would be swift.

"This is not something that should drag out," Lott told reporters.

Fields, who has not commented on the incident, has worked for the sheriff's office since 2004 and joined its school resource officer program in 2008. An elementary school where he is also assigned presented him with a "Culture of Excellence Award" last year.