COLUMBIA, S.C. — Federal prosecutors say they will not charge a deputy who was videotaped tossing a South Carolina high school student across a classroom after she refused to give him her cellphone.
The U.S. Justice Department said in a news release that Richland County deputy Ben Fields did not intend to violate the Spring Valley High School student’s civil rights during the October 2015 confrontation.
Prosecutors say they can’t charge someone with a civil rights violation for using poor judgment or making a mistake.
State prosecutors also decided not to charge Fields, who was the police officer assigned to the Columbia high school.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott fired Fields, saying the video made him want to throw up.
