Footage of a white US policeman appearing to put a black female student in a headlock before flipping her off her chair and dragging her across a classroom floor has provoked outrage on social media.

It comes with perceived police brutality under the spotlight in the United States after a string of incidents -- some deadly -- involving law enforcement officials and black men or boys.

The latest incident happened on Monday at a high-school in Columbia, South Carolina, said local broadcaster WIS, which obtained two videos of the disturbance.

The hashtag #AssaultAtSpringValleyHigh -- in reference to the name of the school -- was trending on Twitter and the videos soon went viral.

The videos, which appeared to have been taken by other pupils on their mobile phones, show the officer enter the classroom.

He has a short conversation with the girl -- who is sitting at her desk -- before grabbing her by the neck, flipping her over and pulling her along the floor.

She does not appear to put up any resistance.

Curtis Wilson, spokesman for Richland County Sheriff's Department, told a press conference that the student had been asked "several times" to leave the room -- for unclear reasons -- but had refused.

US media identified the officer as Ben Fields, one of two officers assigned to the school.

Fields has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, NBC News said.

NBC said that Fields was named as a defendant in a 2013 federal lawsuit that claims he "unfairly and recklessly targets African-American students with allegations of gang membership and criminal gang activity."