A Georgia officer was fired for choking ex-NFL player Desmond Marrow during an arrest in December.
Officials announced the decision on Thursday, May 10 after an investigation conducted by internal affairs concluded that officer David Rose’s use of force was unnecessary, CBS reported.
The in-car camera footage of the officer showed him saying he choked Marrow and that he purposely planned to leave the incident out of the report according to Henry County Police Chief Mark Amerman.
The County’s District Attorney’s Office told USA TODAY that the obstruction of a law enforcement officer charge was dismissed against Marrow and the judge dropped the other felony charge of terrorist threats. The misdemeanor charges which includes reckless and aggressive driving remains under review.
“We have reviewed the police reports, witness statements, 911 calls, audio and videos, as well as interviewed witnesses, and determined there is insufficient evidence to present any felony charges to a grand jury,” District Attorney Darius Pattillo said in a statement.
Marrow posted the video of the incident from his phone on social media and the video instantly went viral. The former player is heard yelling,”I can’t breathe.”
https://www.facebook.com/desmond.marrow.96/videos/2181122778787137/
Henry County police admitted that the mobile phone video didn’t convey “the level of resistance by Mr. Marrow while officers were arresting him, and the struggle officers encountered while trying to get control of the situation while Mr. Marrow was fighting with those officers.”
The department claimed that the officers’ behavior was “within departmental policy.”
However, Rose, on the other hand, violated the department’s rules on maltreatment and unnecessary force, according to Henry County Police.
