Ohio, United States

A police officer released his K-9 dog to attack an unarmed Black man, who had surrendered with his hands up, even though repeated appeals were made to officers by an Ohio State Trooper not to do so.

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The incident on July 4 took place after a lengthy pursuit of a commercial semi-truck by the police officers which did not stop for an inspection, according to a video shared by the Ohio State Highway Patrol.  

CNN reported citing a redacted Ohio State Highway Patrol case report the suspect's vehicle was moving west on US 35 in Jackson County. He was asked to stop by the police inspector because “the vehicle was missing a left rear mud flap." 

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The inspector turned on the lights of his marked patrol vehicle and the “suspect vehicle continued west on US 35 and made eye contact” with the inspector, as per the report. 

When asked to stop, the vehicle’s 23-year-old driver Jadarrius Rose continued to drive and the police inspector had to ask for a marked patrol unit to assist, as per the case report.

Man screams “get the dog off of me…please"

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Initially in the video, the authorities are seen pursuing a semi-truck which appeared to “slow down to a roll” to stop. When the semi-truck stopped, a police officer was seen getting out of the vehicle while pointing a weapon toward the semi-truck and asking the  driver to “get out of the truck.”

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The driver started driving back on the road. He was then seen being chased by the authorities who were joined by multiple law enforcement vehicles. 

Eventually, the semi-truck was stopped by the driver, who was immediately surrounded by several police cars and officers once he got down as per the video. Then, a state trooper came out of his vehicle and walked towards the driver.  “Come to me,” an officer said, as another added, “get on the ground or you’re going to get bit.”

The driver was seen on the road with his hands up.

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“Do not release the dog with his hands up,” warned a state trooper, who was standing at a distance. 

“Circleville Police Department arrived on the scene and stopped in the southbound lanes of US-23 adjacent to the suspect. Circleville K9 Officer R. Speakman exited his patrol car and began giving commands to the suspect. Circleville K9 Officer R. Speakman deployed his K9 on the suspect," the redacted case report read.

As per the video, even after repeated warnings from the state trooper, the dog was released by the officer. The dog then attacked the man and pulled him to the ground, while he screamed  “get the dog off of me…please…please…get it off.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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