Deputy’s actions against girl prompt civil-rights probe

October 28, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

COLUMBIA, S.C.

A girl who refused to surrender her phone after texting in math class was flipped backward and tossed across the classroom floor by a deputy sheriff, prompting a federal civil-rights probe Tuesday.

The sheriff said the girl “may have had a rug burn” but was not injured, and said the teacher and vice principal felt the officer acted appropriately. Still, videos of the confrontation between a white officer and black girl stirred such outrage that he called the FBI and Justice Department for help.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott suspended Senior Deputy Ben Fields without pay, and said what he did at Spring Valley High School in Columbia made him want to “throw up.”

Obama defends police officers

CHICAGO

Defending police officers who have come under scrutiny like never before, President Barack Obama on Tuesday said the men and women who risk their lives to provide security are wrongly “scapegoated” for failing to deal with broader problems that lead people to commit crimes.

Unemployment, poor education, inadequate drug treatment and lax gun laws are not the responsibility of police officers, Obama said in remarks to the International Association of Chief of Police, which had its annual meeting in the president’s Chicago hometown.

He blamed the news media’s tendency “to focus on the sensational” for helping to drive a wedge between police officers and a public they take an oath to protect and serve. He called for rebuilding the trust that once existed between them.

Senate passes bill to push sharing of info on hacker threats

WASHINGTON

The Senate passed a bill Tuesday aimed at improving cybersecurity by encouraging companies and the government to share information about threats. It took roughly six years to win approval for such a program.

The Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act passed by a 74-21 vote. It overcame concerns about privacy and transparency from some senators and technology companies, such as Apple and Yelp.

The Senate rejected amendments, including one addressing concerns that companies could give the government personal information about their customers. Another failed amendment would have eliminated part of the bill that would keep secret information about which companies participate and what they share with the government.

American killed in Palestinian attack was peace activist

JERUSALEM

An American educator who marched for civil rights in the 1960s and advocated coexistence between Muslims and Jews when he moved to Israel died Tuesday after succumbing to wounds suffered in a Palestinian attack on a bus in Jerusalem two weeks ago.

It was one of many attacks in a month of violence triggered in part over Palestinian allegations of Israel changing long-standing agreements at Jerusalem’s most sensitive holy site, charges Israel has strongly denied and said amount to incitement to violence.

In an effort to lower tensions at the site, Israeli and Jordanian officials said Tuesday that new surveillance cameras should be installed within days at the shrine, with the goal of streaming footage live online for maximum transparency. Jordan serves as the custodian of the Muslim-administered site.

Associated Press