CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — The Circleville police officer who unleashed his K9 at a surrendering truck driver following a chase earlier this month has been fired.
Officer Ryan Speakman was terminated two days after being placed on administrative leave. "Officer Speakman did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers," the Circleville Police Department said in a statement.
The Circleville Police Department fired Speakman despite the fact that the city’s Police Use of Force Review Board concluded that he followed department policy when he set the K9 officer on 23-year-old Jadarrius Rose, despite other officers’ requests not to. The department adds that its review board does not have the authority to recommend discipline.
In its statement, Circleville police added that the Pennsylvania-based police service dog facility that trained the K9 involved in the incident "affirmed that its training protocols were followed."
The lengthy pursuit on July 4 and the ensuing attack were captured on a police body camera. The chase began on state highway 35, when state troopers tried to stop a commercial semitruck that was missing a mudflap and failed to halt for an inspection, according to a Ohio State Highway Patrol incident report made available to The Associated Press.
The nearby Circleville Police Department was called in to assist, including a K9 police dog, authorities said. The truck driver, Jadarrius Rose, 23, of Memphis, Tennessee, who is Black, initially refused to get out of the truck and later defied instructions to get on the ground, according to the Highway Patrol incident report and the body cam video.
"The suspect failed to stop for marked patrol units with lights and sirens activated," the report said. Rose eventually got on his knees and raised his hands in the air.
The body camera video shows Speakman holding back the K9, and a trooper can be heard off-camera repeatedly yelling, "Do not release the dog with his hands up!" However, Speakman deploys the dog, and it can be seen in the video attacking Rose.
WARNING: The content in this video may be hard for some to watch.
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.
The dispatcher repeatedly told Rose he should stop and comply with police, and also told him the officers were not trying to harm him.
Ross County Prosecutor Jeffrey Marks said Monday that Rose was charged there "based on the events that happened" in the county. Marks' office is now reviewing materials in the case and will ultimately decide whether any charges should be brought before a county grand jury. However, Marks said his office has no say in whether the Circleville officer is charged since that episode didn't happen in Ross County.
On Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine was asked for his reaction to what happened in Circleville. He stated that the incident “should be a lesson, a wake-up call to everyone, that police training in the state of Ohio is not equal.” DeWine added that he plans to propose the construction of a scenario-based training facility that will be available to every law enforcement agency in Ohio.
"While we certainly respect Gov. DeWine's views and are always ready to discuss how to improve police training, Circleville's canine teams of dogs and officers are trained and certified to meet current Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission-recognized standards," Circleville police added in its statement firing Speakman.
