COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina sheriff says a video of an officer’s arrest of a female student shows her hitting the officer.
But Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Tuesday that his internal investigation is looking into the actions of his officer, not the student’s action.
Lott says he hopes to have the results of his agency’s internal investigation within 24 hours and then he will determine whether Senior Deputy Ben Fields will keep his job. He is currently suspended.
The Justice Department is also investigating.
Video shows a deputy flipping a student backward in her desk and tossing her across the floor for refusing to leave her math class. Lott says she may have had a rug burn but she was not injured.
Lott called the video disturbing.
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