Source:BBCNews
A US police officer has been fired after video showing him throwing a female student across a classroom was shared widely on the internet.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said that Senior Deputy Ben Fields "did not follow proper procedure".
He was a school resource officer at the school in South Carolina.
He "should not have thrown a student - he could have done a lot of things he was trained to do, he was not trained to throw a student", Sheriff Lott said.
The incident occurred at the Spring Valley High School in Columbia, witnesses said, when the unnamed African-American student refused to put away her mobile phone and then refused to leave the classroom.
Video shows the officer knocking the student down and pulling her across the floor.
The incident was filmed by a fellow student and was published on the internet, prompting an outcry from various civil rights and parents' groups.
Mr Lott said he had received expressions of support for the officer, who had been at the school seven years, from some parents and school officials.
But he said the officer had "lost control" and had not dealt with the incident correctly.
"That is not a proper technique and should not be used in law enforcement. And based on that, that is a violation of our policy and approximately 20 minutes ago Officer Ben Fields was terminated from the Richland County Sheriff's Department."
He said complaints had been made about Officer Fields during his time at the school - some had been upheld and some had not. The officer was sued on one occasion, he said, but a jury found in his favour.
Sheriff Lott has said the girl was uninjured aside from a carpet burn.
However, the girl's attorney, Todd Rutherford, told ABC's Good Morning America' that she "has a cast on her arm, she has neck and back injuries" as well as a bandage on her forehead because of the carpet burn.
What does a 'School Resource Officer' do?
- a police officer placed in a school full-time as part of a "community policing" practice
- offers programmes to reduce "crime, drug abuse, violence and provide a safe school environment"
- accompanies school groups to athletic events and school trips
- for younger children, they provide anti-drug programming
- described as having schools as their "beat"
Source: BBCNews