CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio — An officer with the Circleville Police Department is on administrative leave after he deployed a K-9 on a truck driver who was surrendering after a pursuit. Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers can be heard on body camera video telling the officer to hold the dog back moments before the attack happened.
According to a press release from Circleville Mayor Don McIlroy and Circleville Police Chief G. Shawn Baer, a use of force review board is reviewing the incident, which happened on July 4 on U.S. 23.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol released dash and body camera video from the incident.
Troopers tried pulling over a semi-truck in Jackson County on U.S. 35 to inspect the vehicle for a missing rear mudflap, but it did not stop, according to an OSHP incident report. Officers from Circleville were called in to assist.
The driver, 23-year-old Jadarrius Rose, did not stop for at least 20 minutes. Once he did stop, officers exited their vehicles with guns drawn and Rose pulled away.
The chase eventually ended once Rose drove over a spike strip, ripping away one of his left tires. Officers asked Rose to exit the truck, but he remained inside and called 911.
In the call 10TV obtained from the Ross County Sheriff's Office, Rose can be heard telling the dispatcher, "I was about to comply with them, but they had their guns drawn for whatever reason...they tried to throw spikes down at this truck for whatever reasons, I don't know why."
Rose would go on to say he felt like the officers were trying to kill him. The dispatcher told Rose that was not the case.
In another call to 911, Rose stated, "Right now I have police officers following me for a long time and I'm trying to figure out why they got their guns pulled out and it's all really white people and they got their guns out and I'm in the truck.”
Body cam footage from OSHP showed Rose exiting the truck and a trooper can be heard yelling "come to me!"
As troopers tried to take him into custody, there is confusion over whether a K-9 should be released.
One trooper repeatedly told a Circleville officer to not release the K-9 while Rose has his hands up.
The trooper repeated that statement for a third time. Despite the warning from the trooper, the video showed the K9 approaching the driver. Rose was kneeling with his hands out at that time.
Multiple officers were then heard yelling, “get the dog off of him!”
After Rose is apprehended by officers, another trooper was heard saying, "was I not loud enough?"
Brian Higgins, a professor at the John Jay School of Criminal Justice, said Rose appeared to be compliant. Higgins said part of the problem appeared to be miscommunication between the state police and local counterparts.
"When you have other agencies that then descend on the incident. They have to be in some sort of agreement as to what the use of force practices will be,” Higgins said.
10TV requested the police department's use of force policy but we have not heard back.
City officials have also been quiet about the incident.
10TV tried speaking with the Circleville police chief, as well as the mayor and the city’s director of public safety, but we were told they were not available and not releasing any more information at this time. 10TV submitted several records requests with the department, but the person in charge of fulfilling them is out of the office until July 31.