Fields has been the target of at least two lawsuits for allegations of excessive force and negligence, respectively.
In 2007, a couple accused Fields, another deputy and Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott of false arrest, excessive force and violation of free speech rights two years earlier, but the jury ruled in Fields' favor, CNN reported.
According to court documents obtained by the network, Fields approached Carlos Edward Martin after receiving a report of excessive noise. Martin said Fields "slammed him to the ground, cuffed him, began kicking him, and chemically maced him until his clothing was drenched and the contents of the can of mace was [sic] depleted."
In another case, Ashton James Reese, a student at Spring Valley High School, sued Fields and nine others for his allegedly unlawful expulsion in 2013.
The plaintiff claims he was the victim of a lack of due process, negligence, negligent supervision and a violation of the right to public education, the network said.
The official complaint, reproduced on Heavy, says the stated grounds for expulsion were “unlawful assembly of gang activity and assault and battery.”
Reese’s attorneys said Fields “recklessly targets African-American students with allegations of gang membership and criminal gang activity.”
That case is set to go to trial in January 2016.
After the most recent incident, several students at Spring Valley High School took to Twitter to say that Fields has a history of using excessive force against teenagers and that he had even allegedly slammed a pregnant woman to the ground.
