A South Carolina police officer was recently fired for manhandling and thrashing a young student who refused to put her phone away in class. Talk about overkill. The child had been dealing with the loss of her mother and grandmother this year and was placed in foster care.

But don’t expect the talking heads at Fox News to show any compassion. A panel on Fox defended the police officer, and it was classic conservative police-loving hogwash.

Farron Cousins is the executive editor of The Trial Lawyer magazine and a contributing writer at DeSmogBlog.com. He is the co-host / guest host for Ring of Fire Radio. His writings have appeared on Alternet, Truthout, and The Huffington Post. Farron received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from the University of West Florida in 2005 and became a member of American MENSA in 2009. Follow him on Twitter @farronbalanced