Officer fired after bodycam video shows him releasing dog on Black man

globalnews.ca:

An officer in rural Ohio has been fired after he released a police dog on a Black man who had already raised his hands in surrender, authorities said Wednesday.

In a statement, the Circleville Police Department said Officer Ryan Speakman had his employment “terminated.”

On July 4, Speakman, who is white, deployed the dog he’d been handling on 23-year-old truck driver Jadarrius Rose.

Rose was pulled over by police on U.S. Route 23 for a traffic violation. Speakman had been given express orders from state troopers not to release the dog.

“Officer Speakman did not meet the standards and expectations we hold for our police officers. Officer Speakman has been terminated from the department, effective immediately,” the Circleville Police Department said in the statement.

One day prior to his firing, Speakman was put on paid administrative leave, a common practice during use-of-force investigations.

After the investigation, the department’s Use of Force Review Board determined the canine policy was correctly followed in the apprehension and arrest — but the board said it cannot recommend disciplinary measures for officers.

Speakman and his lawyers have not publicly commented on the incident.

The Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, a union to which Speakman belongs, called for the officer to be reinstated. The union filed a grievance on Speakman’s behalf, claiming he was fired “without just cause and contrary to mandatory principles of progressive discipline.”

The union wrote that Speakman should be reimbursed lost wages, seniority and benefits.

This week, the Ohio State Highway Patrol released bodycam footage that shows Speakman releasing the dog despite a state trooper repeatedly shouting, “Do not release the dog.”

Accord