Circleville officer fired for 'crying' and the man he unleased his K-9 on reach settlements

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CIRCELVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – The man bitten by a police K-9 and the officer who released it have each reached legal settlements with Circleville.

According to documents obtained by NBC4, Circleville has settled with Jadarrius Rose for $225,000 after he was attacked by a K-9, which was deployed by a Circleville police officer. In a separate agreement signed Thursday with the city, that former officer, Ryan Speakman, agreed to a $40,000 lump sum payment and will submit a voluntary letter of resignation, effective July 25, 2023. He will be allowed to purchase his K9 from the city for $1.

Body camera footage from the Ohio State Highway Patrol showed Speakman unleashing the K-9 on Rose, an unarmed Black man, after being warned by other law enforcement officers at the scene not to do so.

Rose, 23, was traveling July 4 westbound on U.S. 35 in Jackson County when deputies said he failed to stop for an inspection. He was reportedly driving without a left rear mud flap but did not respond to verbal commands to pull over. About 30 minutes later, troopers deployed stop sticks on U.S. 23 to end the pursuit.

Rose got out of the truck with his hands empty and in the air, per an incident report. Multiple officer accounts and body camera footage showed Rose with his hands up and being told by officers to walk toward them and get down on the ground, which he did not.

Officer Ryan Speakman from Circleville and a K-9 stood to the side of Rose as officers shouted, “Come to me or you are going to get bit!” At the same time, a trooper can be heard in the video repeatedly saying, “Do not release the dog on him with his hands up.”

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

While Rose received first aid, the trooper who initially said not to release the dog asked another trooper if he was loud enough. The other trooper responded, “You said it three, four, multiple times.”

Rose was taken to Adena Regional Medical Center and charged with failure to comply, a fourth-degree felony.

NBC News reported that Rose called 911 while being pursued by police and was unaware why he was pulled over. “Right now I’m being chased by like 20 police officers and they all got their guns pointed directly to my truck. So now I’m trying to figure out why they got their guns all pointed to me and they’re all white people.”

The City of Circleville did not have to admit any wrongdoing in the agreement with Rose, signed on Jan. 8. It also noted the agreement was binding and no other future agreements would be made.

Speakman was initially fired by the Circleville Police Department, which confirmed the firing on July 26, but he contested the decision by filing a grievance through the Ohio Patrolman’s Benevolent Association.

Circleville Police Chief Shawn Baer, who reviewed the incident two days after it occurred, said that Speakman was fired not for the incident itself, but only after receiving reports that, “he was crying and talking with other employees about being stressed over the July 4, 2023, K-9 deployment.” Baer ordered Speakman to stop communication about the incident, but the chief would later receive more reports about Speakman discussing the incident with fellow officers, dispatchers, the city’s Director of Public Safety with another employee present, and family members.

“Upon completion the investigation is public record but prior to it being completed Ryan Speakman discussed so much information with so many people it had immense potential to impact the board’s ability to provide an accurate review,” Baer wrote in a statement.

City leaders, including Attorney General David Yost sided with the City of Circleville, stating the officer used poor judgment. Mayor Mike DeWine cited the need for additional police training.