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An Ohio K-9 officer has been put on administrative leave following an incident this month in which the dog attacked a truck driver who was surrendering to state troopers with his hands up following a highway chase. Circleville Mayor Donald McIlroy said that K-9 Officer Ryan Speakman was placed on leave as the city’s five-member Use of Force Review Board investigates the circumstances of the incident that occurred on July 4 near Columbus.
McIlroy said he had viewed parts of the body-camera footage released by the Ohio State Highway Police that captured the police dog mauling 23-year-old Jadarrius Rose of Memphis, Tennessee. He said: “We have a use of force review board that is looking at it. Once that is completed and I get it, then I will be making some decisions on when we release that report to the media.” McIlroy said the dog involved in the arrest has been put in a kennel while the investigation unfolds. The city’s Use of Force Review Board, comprised of community members, is expected to complete its report by the end of this week or next Monday. McIlroy said: “This is the first time anything like this has happened. So, it’s new to us and this is why we have this review board. And once that review board is finished, we’ll make some determinations where we’ll go forward.”
According to the incident report, troopers from the state Highway Police Department’s Motor Carrier Enforcement Inspector unit attempted to pull Rose over for what they described as an alleged traffic defect violation. Rose allegedly refused to pull over and led troopers on a chase through three counties before police put stop sticks in the roadway ahead of the chase and blew out Rose’s tires, forcing him to stop and surrender to troopers. Body-camera video released by the state Highway Police shows the Circleville police dog arriving at the scene, and shows Rose complying with orders to get on his knees with both hands in the air. A police trooper can be heard in the video repeatedly yelling, “Do not release the dog with his hands up,” but the dog was apparently let loose and attacked Rose.
Rose was treated at a hospital following the K-9 attack and released into the custody of the state Highway Police. He was booked at the Ross County Jail on charges of failure to comply, a fourth-degree felony
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