Ethical Dilemma Paper
Ulises N. Sosa
Professor: Jack Shippee
Ethics in Criminal Justice
University of Phoenix

South Carolina police officer fired after classroom confrontation with students. Officer Ben Fields from the Richard county sheriff's department lost his job after he was witness throwing a student across the room during an altercation. The officer was called to the classroom after an unruly student had refused several times to stop using her phone and to leave the classroom. Officer Fields is seen struggling and consequently tossing a student off her chair by what it appears to be excessive force. The student repeatedly refused to stop using her cellphone. The student the strikes the officer several times on the neck are when the officer attempts to remove her from the classroom using physical force. This is when the officer is seen dragging her and tossing her across the room, and finally subduing the student by placing her on mechanical wrist restraints.

The ethical dilemma here is the actions taken by the school resource officer Deputy Fields. He repeatedly directed the student to surrender the cell phone device and then to leave the room. He then used means of physical force and physically handle a student resulting on the tossing around of the same. Is believe that the officer was justified during the entire process up to the point when he is seen throwing the student across the room in what it appears an unorthodox method. The question that emerge after seen the video are; did the officer exhausted all his verbal resorts before decide to use physical force? Did the officer use proper technique in the removal of the student? And finally was the officer and others in imminent danger to resort to drastic measures? During the whole incident, several of the main characters in this complicated situation had the opportunity to change the outcome of the incident, utilizing taking different approaches. The first one has obviously been the student who could have listen and follow the teachers and officers instruction and stop using the cellphone device. The when things began to escalate the student also had the option to excide the room and finally when the officer order her to come with him; she could have complied with a lawful order and stop the whole incident from happening. Then we need to see the teacher’s actions; the teacher had a roll to fulfil and the student was disrupting the academic activities, and the teacher made numerous attempts to correct the student's behavior. When the teacher finally deiced to call for assistance he could have call the principal, other teachers, other staff, but he called the school resource officer a law enforcement officer. This tells me that the teacher felt in danger and unsafe by the student's action. Reports indicated that the student refused several times to complied with instruction from the teacher to stop using her device and the followed up directive to leave the room. On the teachers eyes the student was not only disturbing the class room but was also causing an unsafe environment towards him and other students in the room.

Finally a look at the officer's actions, without being present at the scene anyone can see the officer's actions as cruel, unusual, and shocking. This is true for some parts of the incident. The officer enters the room, is informed about the situation, talks to the student; directing her to surrender the phone and to come with him. The Girl refuses and the officer approaches the student; and then the video shows the officer trying to physically restrain the student and the student struggling with the officer. The officer ends up throwing the student away from him and then finally subdue and arrest the student. There are several possible alternative actions that all involved in the incident could have taken. The student could have complied and stop using her cellphone and disrupting the class room, then when told to leave the room; she could also have obeyed and all this could have ended there. The teacher could have call other staff and other school personnel to handle the situation as per school policy and procedures. The parents should also have received a call immediately after the student refused several times several different school staff. Then the alternative actions from the officer should have followed an approached where teachers, parents and maybe other law enforcement officers that specialized on juveniles. Involving another staff and other views into the incident enhances the possibilities to gain better outcomes.

Instead, the student refused staff and police, the teacher failed to control the student with verbal intervention and management assistance. Deputy Fields failed to control verbally the student, failed to use sufficient time to allow verbal intervention to work and demonstrated the poor technique of physical restraint. The outcome of this incident is an officer fire, school credibility and public relation damaged and the most important students in the room were hurt physically, mentally and emotionally. In conclusion, all involved in this incident had the opportunity to make better choices to help for a better outcome. However, the officer's actions are the only ones questioned and seen as ethically wrong, because of his role and what he represents. Ethically he did his job, and all staff involved did what they thought necessary to handle the situation. But when it comes to the way of the way physical force was implemented is in no way sound, safe or approved.

References
Keneally, M. (2015, Oct. 28). SC Officer Fired After Classroom Confrontation Video, Lawyer Says He Acted 'Professionally'.