A police officer in Ohio was fired when he let his police dog attack a truck driver who had turned himself in, despite state troopers’ orders for him to hold the dog back.
The Circleville Police Department stated in a statement on Wednesday that Ryan Speakman “did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers” and that he had been “terminated from the department, effective immediately.
A day after Circleville’s police chief said that Speakman had been placed on paid administrative leave, as is customary when the use of force is being examined, Speakman was fired.
The incident was investigated by the town’s civilian Use of Force Review Board. In deploying the dog, Speakman didn’t break any departmental rules, according to the review board’s findings, the police statement on Wednesday said, adding that the review board lacks the power to suggest punishment.
Since it’s a personnel issue, department officials stated they couldn’t speak further at this time.
Requests for a response from Speakman were not promptly answered. Speakman’s police union, the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, announced on Wednesday that it had lodged a grievance on his behalf, alleging that his termination was without justification.
Following a protracted pursuit on July 4 that featured troopers from the Ohio State Highway Patrol and came to an end close to the town, Speakman, who joined the Circleville police department in February 2020, used his police dog. On a police body camera, the pursuit and the subsequent assault were both documented.
According to an incident report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the chase started when officers attempted to stop a commercial semitruck that was driving without a mudflap and would not stop for an inspection.
The Circleville Police Department was contacted for help. According to the Highway Patrol incident report and the body cam video, the truck driver, 23-year-old Jadarrius Rose of Memphis, Tennessee, originally refused to exit the vehicle and later disobeyed orders to lie down. Rose ultimately knelt down and held his hands aloft.
The K9 is seen being held back by Speakman in the body camera footage, and a trooper can be heard repeatedly shouting, “Do not release the dog with his hands up! But Speakman sends the dog into battle.
“Get the dog off of him,” the trooper orders.Rose screams, “Get it off!” as if she is in pain. Please! Please! before the assault is over.
Rose received medical care for dog bites at a hospital. Rose was accused of breaking the law and hasn’t replied to a comment email that was delivered on Monday. Rose’s lawyer, Benjamin Partee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Why he refused to halt for police is unclear. Speakman is white, and Rose is black. Rose stated to The Columbus Dispatch that he was unable to discuss the reasons why he continued. However, in response to a media query over the video, he said: “I’m just grateful that it was filmed. Basically, what you saw is what occurred.
Rose told emergency dispatchers that the officers chasing him were “trying to kill” him and that he didn’t feel secure pulling over, according to audio recordings of 911 calls.
He added that he was perplexed as to why the officers were trying to pull him over and why they had pulled their weapons following a brief stop of the truck before he continued driving.
Rose was repeatedly instructed by the 911 dispatcher to stop and follow police orders, and the policemen weren’t trying to hurt him.
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