COLUMBUS, Ohio — Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who's taken on several high-profile civil rights cases involving Memphis, including the Tyre Nichols case, announced he's representing another Memphian in a potential police brutality case Thursday.
Ben Crump announced he's representing the family of Jadarrius Rose, the 23-year-old truck driver who was attacked by a police dog in Ohio on July 4 after a brief police chase - while he had his hands in the air.
“It is unacceptable for a police officer, while being instructed by other officers not to release the dog while Jadarrius was surrendering with his hands up, to do just that," Crump said. "Body cam video clearly shows [Officer Ryan] Speakman lead the canine to attack unarmed Jadarrius who, at that point, was fully complying. Jadarrius felt unsafe when the traffic stop was initiated and did everything he was supposed to do in that situation – he called 911 to explain his concerns and kept driving. The reality we live in is that Black people have an ingrained mistrust for law enforcement because of situations like this. A man was mauled by a police canine over a missing mudflap.”
The lengthy pursuit on July 4 near Circleville, Ohio, and the ensuing attack were captured on a police body camera. Authorities said the chase began on state highway 35, when officers tried to stop a commercial semitruck that was missing a mud flap and had failed to stop for an inspection.
New body camera video obtained by ABC News shows a closer perspective of the incident. In it, Rose is shown with his hands in the air, seemingly confused by the orders to get on the ground.
Seconds before the dog is released, Officer Ryan Speakman, who's since been fired by the Circleville Police Department, is shown saying "final chance or you're going to get bit," then ordering his dog to "nail him."
The trooper can be heard yelling: "Get the dog off of 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 failure to comply.
Audio recordings of 911 calls that were released by the Ross County Sheriff's Office show Rose told emergency dispatchers that the officers pursuing him were "trying to kill" him and he didn't feel safe pulling over. He also said he was confused about why the officers were trying to stop him and why they had their guns drawn after he briefly stopped the truck before driving away.