COLUMBUS, Ohio – After watching the video of a police dog attacking a Black truck driver, Gov. Mike DeWine said officer training in Ohio needs improvement.
The driver, Jadarrius Rose, 23, of Tennessee, was surrendering with his hands raised after a lengthy pursuit when a Circleville police officer released his K-9 despite objections from an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper. The officer, identified as Ryan Speakman, was fired.
“Officer (Ryan) Speakman did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers. Officer Speakman has been terminated from the department, effective immediately,” police officials said in a statement.
The governor proposed the construction of a scenario-based training facility as part of the upcoming capital budget. He’d also like lawmakers to set aside “guaranteed funds” so departments could use this facility at little to no cost.
DeWine said while the state’s large police departments are “expertly trained,” smaller police departments may not have the resources to do the necessary training.
“This incident in Circleville should be a lesson, a wake-up call to everyone that police training in the state of Ohio is not equal,” DeWine said.
More training needed after failed police reforms
Whether Ohio law enforcement officers have enough training has been an ongoing debate at the statehouse. The governor pushed for a police reform package after the 2021 death of 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant in Columbus. The legislation never materialized.
Democrats also failed to introduce their own police reforms after the murder of George Floyd in police custody.
“I can’t do anything in this area without the cooperation and work of the state legislature,” DeWine, a Republican, said. “We will be working with the speaker and the Senate president in regard to this.”
State Senate President Matt Huffman, a Republican, told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau he supports the governor’s idea and a similar proposal floated by Republican state Sen. Frank Hoagland.
Watch:Ohio police dog mauled Black man as he surrendered to officers, video shows
“I think it’s a great idea,” Huffman said, adding the public deserves to be approached in the same way no matter where they might be pulled over in Ohio.
Thomas has supported efforts to standardize police training across the state, but he said new requirements “gotta have some teeth behind what you put out there. You can’t have it be voluntary.”
Lawmakers allocated about $40 million for police training in the state budget passed in June. They also included a new commission to study long-term methods for funding peace officer training.
DeWine called those changes a good start, but he thinks Ohio needs a more “holistic view of this.”
“No matter where you reside you have a right to have your police officers dealing with you to have the best training possible,” DeWine said. “We have a ways to go in Ohio.”
What happened during the traffic stop?
The July 4 incident began in Jackson County after Rose’s truck failed to stop for a vehicle inspection by state troopers. When Rose pulled over and exited the vehicle, he raised his hands and appeared to comply with troopers’ commands to surrender. That’s when Speakman, who is white, arrived with his K-9.
The two different agencies appeared to give conflicting commands, and a state trooper can be heard on the body camera video saying, “Do not release the dog with his hands up.”
Speakman then released his dog, which attacked Rose and dragged him to the ground.
The incident has garnered national attention, including condemnation from chapters of the NAACP and comment from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who said the situation “sounds horrific.”
“That was excessive use of force,” former Cincinnati police officer and Democratic state Rep. Cecil Thomas said. “Here’s an individual not resisting or giving any reason for that type of force to be used. I had to wonder whether it was because this was a Black man. Was it some kind of biased behavior? Is there something there? Some implicit bias?”
Contributing: The Associated Press.
