Circleville police fire officer who unleashed K9 on unarmed man

CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) -- A Circleville police officer who unleashed his K9 officer on an unarmed Black man has been fired.

Officer Ryan Speakman was fired two days after Circleville Police announced it placed him on administrative leave, the department confirmed Wednesday.

As it announced Speakman's firing, the department said the city's Police Use of Force Review Board -- which isn't listed on the city's board and commission website -- concluded that Speakman followed department policy when he set the K9 officer on 23-year-old Jadarrius Rose, despite other officers' requests not to.

Still, the department determined that Speakman "did not the meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers," a press release stated.

On July 4, Rose was driving on U.S. Route 35 in Jackson County when an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper attempted to pull him over. Body camera footage showed troopers giving verbal commands to Rose as he continued going on U.S. Route 23 and did not stop. Troopers deployed stop sticks on U.S. 23 to end the pursuit, which lasted nearly 30 minutes.

At the end of the pursuit, Rose got out of the car with his hands empty and in the air, per OSHP trooper accounts in the incident report.

While officers told Rose to walk toward them and get on the ground, Speakman stood to the side with his K9 officer. A state trooper repeatedly told Speakman not to release the K9.

Speakman then released the dog and pointed it toward Rose to attack him. As the dog attacked Rose and began to bite his left arm, multiple troopers shouted to get the dog off of him.

Rose was taken to Adena Regional Medical Center in Chillicothe to be treated and charged with failure to comply, a fourth-degree felony. Since the incident, he was released from jail. Rose’s attorney has declined to comment further.

OSHP said Rose was pulled over for driving without a left rear mud flap on his truck and failing to stop for an inspection. NBC News reported that Rose called 911 while being pursued by police and was unaware why he was pulled over.

Circleville police's K9 officers will be sent for "evaluation and annual training" to Shallow Creek Kennels in Pennsylvania, where the K9 who attacked Rose was trained, the department said.

The department otherwise declined to comment.

An organization called Dismantle Circleville Police is hosting a protest at the Circleville Police Department on Saturday, the group announced Wednesday. The group's demands included Speakman's termination as well as reducing the department's budget by 50%, retiring the K9 officer and dropping charges against Rose.