Another Case of Excessive Force Used Against a Black Female Student

By Lynn A. Granata

Yesterday at Spring Valley High, in Columbia, SC what appears to be an innocent young woman was brutally assaulted by a school resource officer. It was portrayed on a video that went viral.

Resource officers are public law enforcement employees. Technically they are police officers,  except with specialized training in psychology and liberal arts or social work. They are there to serve and protect our high school students.

Ever since the violence in public schools has escalated in recent years, and most particularly after the Sandy Hook tragedy resource officers were created to help quell potentially troubled students from acting out.

The young woman, only a teenager was sitting at her desk, but was asked to leave the classroom.

She had no reason to leave, at least from my research, I couldn't find any. Save for she may have been using her cell phone during a class.

Using a cell phone is a minor issue if not an issue at all. And that shouldn't have been no reason to yank her out of her chair and throw her across a room and against a wall.

What is happening in our country today? People are getting arrested, beat up, subdued and jailed for no reason.

The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution is supposed to protect the people from unreasonable searches and seizures.

Police officers can't arrest without a warrant issued by a judge.

This scene speaks for itself

This has been happening more than once within the past year.

Back in July, another young black woman was asked to pull over on side of the road in Texas.

Sandra Bland being dragged from her car in Texas July 2015

She was brutalized by a police officer and arrested without probable cause. She died in her jail cell from suicide. Sounded quite questionable, she was not depressed.

What's happening is that these resource officers are flying too far off of the handle. They are power drunk, obsessed with the thrill they get from using excessive force upon those that they see as weaker.

What should change is that resource officers should only be called when truly needed (crisis) on a campus of a high school or college.

Otherwise they are standing or sitting around looking for something to do. They are bored and virtually not needed in our schools.

If they haven't got nothing to do while they are on duty; they figure that it's okay to go look for trouble elsewhere.