Fired Richland County Deputy Ben Fields had fans among the students at Spring Valley High School, and today they showed their support for him with a rally.
Students walked out of classes at the Columbia, S.C., high school in support of their former school resource officer, gathering for about 10 minutes before returning to classrooms. Media were not allowed in the school so reporters are relying on Twitter to show the scene.
According to the Columbia State newspaper: (The State has the most complete coverage.)
The protest was "an orderly student-led activity" that started around 10 a.m., said Spring Valley Principal Jeff Temoney.
For some Spring Valley High School seniors on break for lunch, the incident has led to more personal questions as they expressed concern for the former deputy they called "Coach Fields" and their fellow student. DeJuan Lino said he wanted to show support for Fields, hopeful the fired deputy would be able to get another job soon.
Amarious Motley said he "didn't think (Fields) needed to use that excessive force," but he and his friends also said the student should have obeyed the deputy's order.
A lot of people on Twitter expressed dismay over what they consider misguided student support for a deputy shown in video flipping a student out of her chair Monday and throwing her across the floor. But Fields had been at the school for seven years and served as an assistant football coach so he knew many students.
Here are some of the student tweets about the walkout and rally:
And here are some of Twitter comments surprised at the student walkout for Fields:
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