Global Courant
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CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio officer was sent on leave while under investigation for letting his police dog loose on a trucker who surrendered, even after state troopers told the officer to stop the dog.
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Officer Ryan Speakman has been placed on paid administrative leave, Circleville Police Chief G. Shawn Baer said in a statement Tuesday. The move is standard procedure in cases investigating the use of force, Baer said, adding that there will be no further comments until the city’s Civilian Use of Force Review Board completes its investigation.
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Speakman deployed his police dog after a lengthy 4th of July chase involving Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers that ended in Circleville. Both the chase and the subsequent attack were captured on police cameras.
The chase began when troopers attempted to stop a commercial semi-truck that missed a mud flap and failed to stop for an inspection, according to an Ohio State Highway Patrol incident report. Nearby Circleville police were called in to assist, including a K9 police dog, authorities said.
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The 23-year-old truck driver, Jadarrius Rose of Memphis, Tennessee, initially refused to get out of the truck and later defied instructions to get to the ground, according to the Highway Patrol’s incident report and bodycam video. Rose finally got down on his knees and put his hands in the air.
The body camera video shows Speakman restraining the K9, and a trooper can be heard yelling repeatedly off-camera, “Don’t let go of the dog with his hands up!” However, Speakman deploys the dog and it shows in the video of him attacking Rose.
The trooper shouts “Get the dog off him!” Rose appears to be in pain and yells, “Get it off! Please! Please!” before the attack ends. Rose was treated at a hospital for dog bites.
Rose was charged with non-compliance and did not respond to an email sent Monday seeking comment. Messages were also left with attorney Benjamin Partee, who was identified in media reports as Rose’s attorney.
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It is not clear why he refused to stop for the police. Rose is black and Speakman is white. Rose told The Columbus Dispatch he couldn’t tell why he didn’t quit. But when asked about the video, the newspaper said: “I’m just glad it was recorded. What you saw is what pretty much happened.
Audio recordings of 911 calls show Rose telling 911 that the officers chasing him were “trying to kill” him and that he didn’t feel safe pulling over. He also said he was confused as to why the officers tried to stop him and why they drew their guns after he briefly stopped the truck before driving away.
The 911 dispatcher repeatedly told Rose to stop and obey the police, saying the officers did not mean to harm him.
