[Jason Carroll, Cnn National Correspondent:] And what we are understanding is that apparently this officer, Ben Fields, sheriff's department deputy, called to the school. And he is also an SRO officer. Called to the school there after this the student in question refused to leave the classroom. Why she refused to leave the classroom, and was it because she was on the cell phone and refused to get off, that is some of the things that the investigators are still looking at. When the teacher asked her to leave the classroom, and she refused, and administrator brought to the classroom and asked her to leave the classroom, and once again, she refused. Then the officer was brought in and asked her to leave the classroom and she refused. And now you have seen the action that we have seen and gone across the social media. And that officer in question, Ben Fields, has been placed on the administrative duty pending the outcome of an investigation. We know at this point that law enforcement there, and the sheriff's deputy is going to be holding a press conference at some point at 4:00. And there is a picture of him there, Wolf. In terms of the background, we have been looking into that as well, and it is a mixed bag. Last year, awarded the Culture of Excellence Award. This is for outstanding work there in the community. And so clearly, he does have a number of people there in the community, students as well, who support him as well. But then, when you look at the social media, Wolf, you will hear from a number of students who said he had a reputation of being rough handed with the students there. And these are things that are going to be looked at as the investigations are moving forward.
[Wolf Blitzer, Cnn Anchor:] They certainly will be. All right. Jason, thanks very much. And Hillary Clinton has tweeted about this very disturbing video. She says "There is no excuse for violence inside of a school. #assaultatspringvalleyhigh is unacceptable. Schools should be safe places. Signed H." Which means she personally verified that is her tweet. Joining us for more on what's going on, the Colombia, South Carolina, Mayor Stephen Benjamin, is on the phone. Mayor, thank you for joining us. I know that you are outraged by the video, and so many people are. Based on the understanding, what happened here? What led up to this?
[Stephen Benjamin, , Mayor, Colombia, South Carolina:] Well, the account that your reporter laid out seems to be following the account that I have received as well. You know, this is incredibly disturbing, Wolf. Obviously, I want to make sure that people understand that this is not a city of Columbia police officer, and outside of our jurisdiction. However, I want to say that we can't and we won't accept this behavior from any law enforcement officer. We need to make sure that the sheriff has called for the independent investigation into the FBI and the Department of Justice, and that is the right way to go. And we have to get to the bottom of the incident, and make sure that justice is served. These incidents do real damage to the progress that so many law enforcement agencies have been trying to make over the last several years. And we have several hundred police officers at the police department who work their butts off everyday running towards danger to keep the community safe, and the action of one officer can do incredible damage to the reputation, and we have to be dealt with it swiftly and transparently and decisively.
[Blitzer:] And it was not a Columbia, South Carolina, police officer, Colombia, South Carolina, police officer. He was a deputy sheriff from Richland County, which is the county in which Columbia is. Have you ever seen anything like this before in the history of Columbia, South Carolina, an incident like this in one of your schools?
[Benjamin:] Well, Wolf, I have the experience of running a law enforcement agency, and director of the second largest law enforcement agency 15 years ago. We have the responsibility of training, hiring, and firing officers in the past. This is, I think, it actually belies a much larger question about the presence of law enforcement officers in schools, the utility of the school resource officers. The officers need to be there at the gates to make sure that the students are safe from any type of madness that we have seen occasion our schools. But we have to make sure that we are not criminalizing behavior that you might have participated in as an adolescent or might have as well that kids don't develop a criminal record, and wind up in the school-to- prison pipeline. So much work to be done here. And we have taken a lead here in the city with Justice for All reform, and enhancing the training for officer, and the accountability, and the transparency, and the police department, and we think that there are lessons that all of us can take from this incredibly sad incident. But again, I think that the painful moments give us a chance to recommit ourselves. I have heard the story of the second student also arrested. And I think that when you see the injustice occurring, you have to stand up to speak out. And that student deserves some accolades for that.
[Blitzer:] And what is the why was this second student arrested?
[Benjamin:] My understanding is, according to what your reporter just said, speaking out and disturbing the schools.
[Blitzer:] Is that enough to arrest a student?
[Benjamin:] It is tough. And I will say this, Wolf, every single meaningful social movement in the history of this country has been led by young people, young people who recognize some injustice that has to be corrected. Young people standing up and speaking out on this issue of exactly how policecommunity interactions ought to be handled in a burgeoning democracy are the spear. And so we have to follow up with real good structural reforms that we do law enforcement in the country. Our police department is leading this. The African-American Mayors Association and the Conference of Chiefs are leading in the peaceful training and conflict resolution training, and including transparency and accountability. People don't expect the officers to be perfect, because they are human beings like the rest of us, but they do expect us to be professional, and expect, obviously, when people make mistakes, and grave mistakes for people to with be held accountable. And the hope and prayers is that the sheriff's deputy gets a fair hearing in court, but he is held accountable at the end of the day.
[Blitzer:] And one final question, Mayor. How old were these two girls?
[Benjamin:] My understanding is they are both seniors. That is my understanding.
[Blitzer:] Seniors, so 17 or 18 years old, presumably. All right. Mayor, thank you for joining us. And Stephen Benjamin is the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina. And good luck to you, Mayor, and the folks there.
[Benjamin:] Thank you.
[Blitzer:] We will stay on top of the story. We'll take a quick break. Cedric Alexander, we will speak him, the former president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. You'll hear what he has to say. There he is right there. Stay with us. Much more right after this.