Ohio investigates why a police dog was deployed on a surrendering truck driver

Several Ohio agencies are investigating why an officer allowed his police dog to attack a truck driver who was surrendering with his hands raised, despite State Highway Patrol troopers urging the officer to hold the dog back.

The lengthy pursuit on July 4 and the ensuing attack were captured on a police body camera. Authorities said the chase began on state highway 35, when officers from the town of Circleville tried to stop a commercial semitruck that was missing a mudflap and failed to stop for an inspection.

State troopers were called in to assist, authorities said. The 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 an Ohio State Highway Patrol incident report made available to The Associated Press, along with the body cam video.

“The suspect failed to stop for marked patrol units with lights and sirens activated,” the incident report said. He eventually got on his knees and raised his hands in the air.

The name of the Circleville officer has not been released, and officials in that department have not said if he’ll face any disciplinary action. They also declined to comment on the investigation. However, the K9 officer was identified in the incident report as Officer Ryan Speakman of the Circleville Police Department.

The body cam 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 deployed the dog, and it can be seen in the video attacking Rose.

Then the trooper can be heard yelling: “Get the dog off of him!” Rose appears to be in pain and yelling, “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, and he did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Messages were also left with attorney Benjamin Partee, who was identified in media reports as Rose’s lawyer.

It’s not yet clear why he refused to stop for the inspector and police. He told The Columbus Dispatch that he couldn’t talk about why he didn’t stop but, when asked about the video, told the newspaper: “I’m just glad that it was recorded. What you saw is what, pretty much, happened.”

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.

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