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COLUMBUS, Ohio — An unarmed Black man was mauled by a police dog in Ohio after he had already surrendered to authorities with his hands up following a high-speed car chase through multiple counties earlier this month, according to newly released body camera footage.
The lengthy pursuit began after Jadarrius Rose, 23, of Tennessee, failed to stop for a vehicle inspection by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper on July 4. The footage, which was first obtained by the Scioto Valley Guardian through a public records request, shows state troopers giving the dog’s handling officer several warnings to not release the dog if the man surrendered with his hands in the air.
Although Rose appeared to comply with authorities in the video, a Circleville K9-handling police officer is seen releasing the dog and commanding the dog to attack Rose.
Circleville Police told The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, they are reviewing the conduct of the K9-handling officer, identified as Ryan Speakman in the highway patrol’s written report. But police refused to say whether Speakman or any other officers have been placed on leave.
Nana Watson, president of the NAACP’s Columbus, Ohio, chapter, compared the video to images of police dogs used against protesters in the South during the Civil Rights Movement.
“This type of behavior should not be tolerated,” Watson said. “It brings back those hurtful memories of hate for Black people.”
The Dispatch has made a public records request for Speakman’s personnel file.
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What does the video show?
The full video released by the highway patrol is over 40 minutes long and begins with a part of the chase before the truck comes to a stop in Pickaway County, around 10 a.m. The vehicle, which had been following the speed limit for most of the time, according to the report, stopped after officers deployed “stop sticks” – bars with spikes that flatten tires.
Over a dozen officers from the highway patrol and the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office approached the truck from behind with their guns drawn, the video shows. After a few minutes, Rose is seen exiting the vehicle and standing outside his truck with his hands up. He appears to comply with state highway troopers’ commands to surrender.
The video then shows a K-9 unit from Circleville Police Department arriving on the opposite side of the road. Circleville officers and state troopers seem to give Rose conflicting commands, according to the video, with a trooper ordering the man to come towards him while a Circleville officer orders him to get on the ground.
But Rose stands in place with his hands up, the video shows.
“Do not release the dog with his hands up!” a state trooper can be heard repeatedly warning.
Speakman releases the dog, which initially runs towards a trooper, but then the handler redirects the dog toward Rose by yelling and pointing. The video appears to show the dog attacking Rose, dragging him to the ground.
“Get the dog off of him! Get the dog off of him!” shouts another officer.
Rose yells: “Get it off! Please! Please!”
The dog’s handlers run to Rose and pin him on the ground before the dog stops the attack, the video shows. The dog bites Rose for between 10 and 20 seconds. He is seen bleeding from his arm.
Afterwards, the trooper who yelled “Do not release the dog” can be heard asking colleagues, “Was I not loud enough?”
“You said it three, four … times,” says another trooper.
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Rose, who has been released from jail, told the Dispatch that he couldn’t talk about why he didn’t initially stop. About the video, he said, “I’m just glad that it was recorded. What you saw is what, pretty much, happened.”
Lt. Nathan Dennis, a spokesperson for the highway patrol, said Rose was unarmed. The only charge listed against him in the incident report is “failure to comply with an order or signal of a police officer.”
Jeffrey Marks, the Ross County Prosecutor, said his office is planning to press charges against Rose for failure to comply with officers’ orders.
He added the charges — normally a misdemeanor — would be elevated to a third-degree felony because “his…conduct caused a substantial physical risk to persons and property.”
The prosecutor said the fact that Rose was attacked by the Circleville K-9 would not play into his decision to press charges against Rose.
“We’re dealing with the conduct of what (Rose) did well before any of that happened,” Marks said.
Circleville Police Officer Kory Yoder said the department would provide no information until the excessive force review is complete. Circleville police have not released video footage or the incident report.
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