A 23-year-old Black man who was mauled by a police dog in Ohio after surrendering with his hands up appeared to tell 911 dispatchers in at least two calls that he didn't know why he was being pulled over or why troopers had their guns drawn.
“Right now I’m being chased by like 20 police officers and they all got their guns pointed directly to my truck,” a man police believed to be Jadarrius Rose told a Pickaway County dispatcher during a 2-minute call released Monday. “So now I’m trying to figure out why they got their guns all pointed to me and they’re all white people.”
Rose was pulled over July 4 in Circleville, Ohio, because the semi-truck he was driving “was missing a left rear mud flap,” according to an incident report from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
Following a pursuit, Rose stood outside his vehicle with his hands raised when a Circleville police officer instructed his dog to attack. A trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol could be heard in a body camera video advising against releasing the dog because Rose had surrendered.
The 911 caller, who didn't identify himself but is believed to be Rose, also says that the troopers "exploded" the tires on his truck, which he was driving to a delivery point. (He was referring to tire-deflating devices called "stop sticks" that troopers deployed in an attempt to stop Rose's truck.)
"And it's not even my truck, I'm just driving to my delivery point," he said. "All of them got their guns pointed directly to me."
When asked for a second 911 call Rose made to Ross County, a spokesperson provided audio in which the caller says: "I don’t know why they’re trying to kill me."
"I do not feel safe with stopping, I don’t know why they’re throwing stuff on the ground trying to get me in an accident," the caller said.
On the 911 call with Pickaway County, the dispatcher advised: "Listen to what the officers are telling you."
"They ain't told me nothing, they ain't told me nothing," the caller said. "I don't know why they're pulling me over."
The dispatcher tells the caller to roll down his window.
"I did that the last time and all of them had their guns pointed at me. You think I feel safe?" the caller said.
The caller is then instructed to put both hands out the window, then open his door with his left hand showing. The call ends shortly after.
A 'lengthy pursuit' ends in a mauling
Rose was traveling westbound on U.S. Route 35 when a Motor Carrier Enforcement inspector and troopers with the Ohio State Highway Patrol tried to pull him over. When Rose failed to stop, troopers deployed the stop sticks on his vehicle twice before it came to a stop on U.S. Route 23.
After he was ordered several times to get out of the vehicle, Rose can be seen on the body camera video standing in front of troopers with his hands in the air.
That's when a Circleville police officer, identified as “R. Speakman,” deploys his K9 and instructs the dog to attack Rose.
“Do not release the dog with his hands up!” a trooper can be heard yelling multiple times before Speakman releases the dog.
The bodycam video then appears to show the dog biting and pulling Rose by his arm as he screams loudly.
Although Circleville police vehicles have dashboard cameras and officers are meant to wear body cameras, Circleville Mayor McIlroy said he does not know if Speakman had one on during the incident.
Speakman was placed on paid administrative leave around five days ago, McIlroy told NBC News.
When asked why Speakman wasn’t immediately placed on leave following the incident, McIlroy said, “I cannot answer that question.”
“Nothing like this should ever happen to anybody. ... It’s just a very unfortunate situation,” he said.
This isn't the first time Speakman's conduct has been under review, according to McIlroy. The officer was investigated in connection with another incident approximately within the past two years.
A use of force review board is reviewing the incident, according to the Circleville Police Department. The board’s findings will be released next week.
McIlroy said he understood how people could be concerned about race factoring into the officer’s actions but adds “… we do not have any racial problems here in the city of Circleville.”
He called the community “all inclusive" and "a great place to live, a great place to raise your family, a great place to send your kids to school.”