HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — Formal charges have been filed against David Rose, a former Henry County police officer accused of physically assaulting a former NFL player during a traffic stop.
According to the 2017 police report, Desmond Marrow was driving on Jonesboro Road over I-75 when another driver allegedly threw a cup of coffee on his car. Marrow reportedly started aggressively chasing the car through a McDonough shopping center.
Officers saw Marrow driving aggressively and allegedly followed him. According to the report, Marrow and “several others” were arguing in a parking lot. A witness allegedly told the officer he heard Marrow state that he was “going to shoot them.”
Officers reportedly patted Marrow down and no weapons were found. Due to the alleged threats, officers told Marrow he would be arrested and at that point police said Marrow refused to cooperate and started to struggle.
The incident was captured on cell phone video. It showed Marrow in apparent handcuffs when an officer lifted his right leg and threw him on the ground.
Soon after, an officer later identified as Rose could be seen on video kneeling near his head and allegedly grabbing him by the throat. At one point in the video, Marrow can be heard saying “I can’t breathe” before going limp.
On his Facebook page, Marrow said officers claimed he had a gun in his pocket, but he said it was only a cellphone. He also wrote that police "knocked my teeth out, slammed me on my head and choked me out until I was unconscious. In addition, I suffered a shoulder strain and a concussion."
According to NFL.com, Marrow was a defensive back at the University of Toledo and was an undrafted player by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012. He never made it out of pre-season, and it was his last time suited up for any NFL team.
This past week, Rose was formally charged with simple battery. He is accused of making physical contact of an insulting and provoking nature by grabbing Marrow’s neck and choking him.
Rose arrested Marrow on charges related to terrorist threats, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer, reckless driving and aggressive driving. A Magistrate Judge dismissed the terrorist threat charges.
In 2018, the Henry County District Attorney’s Office dismissed Marrow’s felony obstruction charge and transferred the two traffic charges of reckless and aggressive driving to the Henry County Solicitor’s Office, which prosecutes misdemeanor offenses.
As part of the investigation, the district attorney’s office learned that Rose allegedly choked Marrow during the arrest while he was handcuffed. He allegedly choked him from behind while he was on the ground.
Marrow told 11Alive the arrest took a toll.
"Every time I see an officer, I have an anxiety attack, or my son wants to play with his cop cars and it's killing me, but he's having the time of his life and I can't even tell him what's going on," Marrow said.
