SAYONARA

Body-Slamming Deputy Ben Fields Has Been Fired

Sheriff will hold press conference Wednesday.

The South Carolina police officer who body-slammed a high-school girl reportedly after she refused to leave a classroom has been fired. The incident involving Sr. Dpt. Ben Fields was caught on camera by another student uninvolved in the confrontation. The unidentified girl's attorney says she suffered multiple injuries to her neck and back, and her arm is currently in a cast.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, who told reporters Thursday that there’s a third video showing the girl hitting Fields “with her fists,” announced the firing during a noon press conference.

While Lott reiterated his belief that the student "started the whole thing," he stated that Fields has been terminated from the Richland County Sheriff's Department because the internal investigation determined that the maneuvers used on the girl were a flagrant violation of the department's policy.

"The student was not a danger and Officer Ben Fields treated her as if she was a physical danger," Lott added.