DOJ Signs Agreement With Agency of Ex-Deputy Who Tossed Girl
Source: Associated Press
The South Carolina sheriff's department whose deputy tossed a student across a classroom after she refused to give up her cellphone has agreed with the U.S. Justice Department to do its part in ending what the federal agency calls a "school-to-prison pipeline."
The settlement of a civil rights review comes as the American Civil Liberties Union sued South Carolina in federal court on Thursday over what it calls the criminalization of normal adolescent misbehavior. The lawsuit challenges the state's "disturbing schools" and "disorderly conduct" charges as unconstitutionally vague.
The sheriff of Richland County, Leon Lott, said Thursday that he agrees with the ACLU on these points. He called the "disturbing schools" charge commonly used against students a "terrible law" that has been "misused and abused."
Lott also said the agreement's requirement that officers be removed from any classroom management duty is a positive outcome from the videotaped confrontation last October at Spring Valley High in suburban Columbia.
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By SEANNA ADCOX, ASSOCIATED PRESS COLUMBIA, S.C. — Aug 11, 2016, 9:10 PM ET