National groups protest charges against Spring Valley girls

Protestors gathered at the Richland County Solicitor’s Office on Thursday to ask that charges against two students involved in an Oct. 26 incident at Spring Valley High School be dropped.

A 16-year-old student refused to cooperate with school officials during that incident, at which point former Richland County deputy Ben Fields physically removed the girl from her chair and slid her across the floor. That student was charged with disturbing schools. Another student, Niya Kenny, was charged with disturbing schools after she says she told classmates to film Fields’ actions.

Kenny’s mother, Doris Ballard-Kenny, spoke at the protest.

“Niya was compelled to speak out,” she said. “No one told her to – this was just her basic instinct to speak out against what she thought was a wrong against another human being, and for that, she was arrested and it was labeled (as) disturbing schools.”

The punishment for disturbing schools is a fine of up to $1,000 or 90 days in jail.

Protestors also called for charges to be pressed against Fields, who was fired from the Sheriff’s Department after an internal investigation. The FBI and U.S. Justice Department currently are investigating the incident.

Solicitor Dan Johnson issued a statement Wednesday in advance of the protest.

“The cases involving the students and the FBI investigation involving Ben Fields are inextricably linked,” Johnson said. “Therefore, while one is under investigation, the others cannot be resolved and will not go forward.”

Local officials will not make any decisions regarding the prosecution of these cases until all investigations are complete, Johnson added.

Protestors delivered petitions, which they said carried 150,000 signatures, to staff members at the Solicitor’s Office.

The protest was organized by www.colorofchange.org, the Malcom X Center for Self Determination, the Alliance for Education Justice, the Ubuntu Institute for Community Development, and the International Justice Network, according to a media release. The Richland Two Black Parents Association also attended.

“From a parent’s perspective, we don’t want to see children being saddled with criminal records,” Stephen Gilchrist with the Black Parents Association said.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 6:51 PM with the headline "National groups protest charges against Spring Valley girls."