Rally draws few protestors, more spectators, as Circleville police K-9 attack divides city

Jordan Laird, Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·3 min read
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The Revs. Nancy Dederer, of Circleville Presbyterian Church, and Mark Nodo, of Trinity Lutheran Church, stood in front of the Circleville Police Department on Saturday, handing out chilled bottles from a wagon Dederer brought.

"We want to be a presence for hope and peace and unity," said Dederer, who said she was concerned when she saw the video that has made waves nationally and divided this small town.

A handful of other Circleville residents and a few from nearby Chillicothe came out in the Saturday heat to express their desire for accountability from the Circleville Police Department, whose K-9 officer Ryan Speakman released his police dog on an unarmed, surrendering truck driver earlier this month.

Locals loiter near the Circleville Police Department, where barricades were set up for a Saturday protest in reaction to officer Ryan Speakman releasing his K-9 on an unarmed truck driver July 4. Only a handful of protesters showed up.
Locals loiter near the Circleville Police Department, where barricades were set up for a Saturday protest in reaction to officer Ryan Speakman releasing his K-9 on an unarmed truck driver July 4. Only a handful of protesters showed up.

A since-deleted Facebook page, Dismantle Circleville Police, planned the demonstration, and more than 1,000 people indicated they would come. But the fears of some onlookers that a protest would get out of control appeared to be unfounded early Saturday afternoon.

More than twice as many spectators as protestors loitered on the sidewalks and street, which was blocked by cement barricades. Several people told The Dispatch the incident was blown out of proportion and they were there to make sure everything remained peaceful. A few of them had signs with messages such as, "U should of pulled over, stupid."

A local man, who refused to give his name, stands next to several hostile signs Saturday near a protest outside the Circleville Police Department in reaction to officer Ryan Speakman releasing his K-9 on an unarmed truck driver July 4. Only a handful of protesters showed up, and about twice as many locals came to watch.
A local man, who refused to give his name, stands next to several hostile signs Saturday near a protest outside the Circleville Police Department in reaction to officer Ryan Speakman releasing his K-9 on an unarmed truck driver July 4. Only a handful of protesters showed up, and about twice as many locals came to watch.

"All of this has been turned into a racial thing, which it is not," Circleville resident Tim Fouch said.

The truck driver who was attacked, Jardarrius Rose, 23, of Memphis, Tennessee, is Black.

Circleville police fired Speakman earlier this week, but questions remain surrounding the reason for his termination, with some worried the police union will get Speakman his job back.

Zack Brooks, of Circleville, who wore a Black Lives Matter T-shirt, said the arrest and the department leadership's response have brought a lot of shame to the community. Brooks said he wants to see Speakman charged with a crime and for police to be transparent about their internal review of the matter.

Locals loitered near the Circleville Police Department, where barricades were set up for a Saturday protest reaction to K-9 officer Ryan Speakman releasing his police dog on an unarmed truck driver July 4. Only a handful of protesters showed up.
Locals loitered near the Circleville Police Department, where barricades were set up for a Saturday protest reaction to K-9 officer Ryan Speakman releasing his police dog on an unarmed truck driver July 4. Only a handful of protesters showed up.

What we know about what happened

After Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers tried pulling over the commercial semitrailer July 4 for an inspection because it was missing a mud flap, Rose led officers on a chase across three counties.

In a 911 call from Ross County, Rose told a dispatcher he was going to pull over but was scared for his life after he saw officers with their guns drawn.

After about 40 minutes, in Circleville, where officers deployed "stop sticks" to deflate the truck's tires, Rose stopped and surrendered.

Rose had his hands in the air when body camera footage shows a Circleville officer releasing the K-9 on him. Video of the dog attack — during which a trooper can be heard telling the Circleville officer repeatedly to not release the dog on the surrendering man — first came to light a little over a week ago.

The situation has since received international attention, including reaction from Gov. Mike DeWine and the White House.

The Florida-based prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced this week that he represents Rose.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Circleville police dog attack divides local residents at protest