A former police officer in Henry County, Georgia, has bonded out of jail after being indicted on several charges stemming from the 2017 choking of former NFL player Desmond Marrow.
David Rose bonded out of jail shortly after turning himself in on the night of Thursday, June 27, Henry County Police told 11 Alive. Rose posted $21,000 bond, which comes a day after he was formally charged with two counts of violation of oath of office, one count of making a false statement and one count of simple battery, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
The incident in question occurred in December 2017 and went viral in the spring of 2018. The caught-on-camera moment saw white officers grab a handcuffed Marrow and push the 204-pound former football star against a white truck. Then, one of the officers picks up the defensive back’s leg and forces him down onto the pavement. Afterward, another officer grabs Marrow by the throat, the athlete across the pavement and audibly choking.
“I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Marrow exclaims before seeming to go limp.
Marrow explained on his Facebook page that officers thought he had a gun on him but he actually only had his cellphone in his pocket.
“I was fully cooperating with the officers with ZERO resistance,” Marrow wrote on his post, alleging officers knocked out his teeth and caused him to suffer a concussion and a sprained shoulder. “I thought I was going to die. I was sure I was passing out or dying.”
Six months after the incident initially occurred, Rose was fired.
“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 last May.
Rose’s bond posting is only one of the latest developments in the case. The day after his indictment, a civil lawsuit was filed against Henry County alleging officials mishandled the investigation into Rose choking Marrow.
“Henry County can be the first beacon of hope throughout the nation to change this issue in policing that has come up over and over and over again,” Marrow’s attorney, Gerald Griggs, said during a news conference discussing the suit.
While Rose was ultimately fired, that was only the result of a second investigation by the police. An initial probe determined there was no wrongdoing on Rose’s part.
“For me, it’s not really about Officer Rose,” Marrow said at the presser. “The main thing to me that matters is about the people in Henry County.”
