Police K-9 handler who released dog that attacked an unarmed Black man in Ohio placed on paid leave while incident is under review, mayor says

By Isabel Rosales and Emma Tucker, CNN

(CNN) — A Circleville, Ohio, officer who was seen on video deploying a police K-9 that attacked an unarmed Black man while he was surrendering to authorities is on paid administrative leave as the incident is under investigation, the mayor said.

Jadarrius Rose, 23, was bitten by a Circleville police dog on July 4 following a lengthy vehicle pursuit that began as officers attempted to pull over a commercial semi-truck police say failed to stop for an inspection, according to the highway patrol case report and footage released by the agency.

Mayor Don McIlroy on Monday identified the Circleville officer who deployed the dog as Ryan Speakman. He has been placed on paid administrative leave, the mayor told CNN.

The incident is being investigated by a use of force review board, whose findings are expected to be released next week, the mayor and Police Chief G. Shawn Baer said in a joint statement Friday.

The statement confirmed the Circleville Police Department “was involved in a mutual aid request by the Ohio State Highway Patrol” after the driver of a semi-truck refused to stop and the K-9 unit responded to assist.

The police union representing Speakman said it “patiently awaits the outcome” of Circleville’s investigation before it gives a further statement. Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association Senior Counsel Joseph Hegedus is representing the officer, according to a statement by Tom Austin, the union’s executive director.

Mitchell Christian, a certified police and military K-9 instructor who reviewed dashcam and body camera videos from the incident, said Speakman’s decision to deploy the dog onto a surrendering person was “not indicative to what a canine handler should do in that scenario.”

“The handler should be able to look at that guy and know he’s not a threat. You wouldn’t Tase a guy who was sitting there with his hands up,” Christian, who is the owner and head trainer at Christian K-9 Academy in West Jefferson, Ohio, told CNN.

Police dogs are not trained to kill or have “life-altering effects,” Christian said. They are trained to help officers apprehend a suspect safely and their level of force can be compared to that of a Taser, he added.

“I will say it’s probably not a good example for a K-9 handler’s decision-making skills there because I would say most handlers out there would choose not to deploy the dog on a guy who’s clearly trying to give up, at that point,” Christian continued. “Ultimately, it’s always the handler’s decision whether to deploy the dog or not.”

Conflicting commands ‘confused’ driver, expert says

The vehicle pursuit began after a Motor Carrier Enforcement inspector tried to stop the semi-truck, which was traveling west on US 35 in Jackson County, Ohio, due to a missing mud flap, according to the Highway Patrol case report.

But when the inspector turned on the lights on his marked patrol vehicle, the “suspect vehicle continued west on US 35,” the report says, noting the driver made eye contact with the inspector.

When the driver – identified as Rose – failed to stop, the inspector notified dispatch to send a marked patrol unit to assist, the case report says.

During the police chase, Rose told emergency dispatchers that officers were “trying to kill” him and he did “not feel safe” pulling over the truck, according to recordings of Rose’s 911 calls released by the Ross County Sheriff’s Office.

The video shows authorities pursuing the semi-truck, which appeared to initially slow down and stop. As it does, the footage shows an officer getting out of a vehicle, pointing a weapon toward the truck and ordering the driver to get out. The driver does not exit the vehicle, however, and starts driving again. Multiple law enforcement vehicles are shown joining the chase, the footage shows.

The driver eventually stops the semi-truck and gets out of the vehicle surrounded by several police cars and officers, the video shows, before cutting to what appears to be a state trooper getting out of his vehicle and walking toward the driver.

“Come to me,” an officer is heard saying to the driver. Another adds, “get on the ground or you’re going to get bit.”

The driver is shown on the road with his hands up.

“Do not release the dog with his hands up,” a state trooper warns several times from a distance, though it is unclear if the state trooper could be heard by other officers.

The case report says Speakman “exited his patrol car and began giving commands to the suspect” before he deployed the K-9 on Rose after repeated warnings from the state trooper, according to the video footage.

The dog runs toward officers and then turns to Rose and attacks him, pulling him to the ground, the video shows. Rose is seen and heard screaming and crying out for the officers to pull the dog off of him, the video shows.

He continues to cry out as officers call out for a first aid kit. Rose was later shown being treated by the officers.

Christian, the K-9 instructor, told CNN Rose appeared “clearly confused” before the dog was deployed in the video footage because he was getting “two different commands from two different officers.”

“I don’t think the dog is lacking the training,” Christian said. “I think it was just a bad deployment.”

Rose was treated and released from a hospital before being taken to the Ross County Jail, according to a case report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, which notes he faced a charge of failure to comply with order or signal by a police officer, a fourth-degree felony.

He was released from custody July 7, the Ross County Prosecutor’s Office told CNN, adding the office is still collecting evidence before it determines whether to move forward with the charge against him.

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CNN’s Nicole Grether, Raja Razek, Polo Sandoval and Dakin Andone contributed to this report.