Ohio officer who released K-9 on unarmed Black man fired
An Ohio police officer who released a police dog on an unarmed Black man earlier this month has been fired, according to media reports.
Officer Ryan Speakman was fired from the Circleville Police Department “effective immediately,” after a review of the early July incident found he “did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers,” the department said in a statement reported by CNN.
Speakman released a police dog on Jaddarius Rose, a 23-year-old truck driver, while he was kneeling with his hands up following a car chase with police on July 4.
Police say Rose had failed to stop for an inspection on state highway 35 in Ohio, resulting in the chase involving Circleville police officers and state troopers. While he initially refused to get out of the truck and get on the ground, he later got on his knees and raised in hands in the air.
In body camera footage of the incident, a state trooper can be heard repeatedly yelling at Speakman, “Do not release the dog with his hands up!”
However, Speakman let the dog loose, and the canine attacked Rose and dragged him to the ground. He was later treated at a hospital for dog bites.
The officer’s firing comes despite the determination by the Circleville Police Use of Force Review Board that the department’s “policy for the use of canines was followed in the apprehension and arrest,” according to ABC News.
“It’s important to understand that the Review Board is charged only with determining whether an employee’s actions in the use of force incident were within department policies and procedures,” the Circleville Police Department added in its statement.
“The Review Board does not have the authority to recommend discipline.”
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