The ex-Henry County officer accused of slamming former NFL player Desmond Marrow to the ground and choking him during a 2017 arrest has rejected a plea offer.
Henry County District Attorney Darius Pattillo is now considering filing additional charges against David Rose.
Officials said Rose appeared before a judge for the first time as a defendant, Tuesday, and was expected to enter a guilty plea. However, at the last minute, Rose decided to reject the offer, which included 12 months of probation and surrendering his law enforcement certification.
PREVIOUS: Ex-Henry County police officer charged in alleged assault of former NFL player Desmond Marrow
Just last week, Rose was charged with simple battery connected to the Dec. 2, 2017 incident.
According to a police report, 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. Police responded to the Target on Jonesboro Road.
According to the report, Marrow and “several others” were arguing in the 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 district attorney's office said during the arrest, Rose grabbed Marrow’s neck and choked him while he was on the ground and handcuffed from behind. The incident was captured on video and Rose could be heard admitting to choking Marrow, officials said.
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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."
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Officials said Rose arrested Marrow on charges of terroristic threats, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer, reckless driving and aggressive driving.
A judge subsequently dismissed the terroristic threats charge and bound over the other charges to Superior Court. Following a thorough investigation of the incident last year, the district attorney’s office dismissed the felony obstruction charge and transferred the two traffic-related charges to the Henry County Solicitor’s Office, which prosecutes misdemeanor offenses.
Pattillo said Rose was a Henry County officer for almost three years and was terminated from the county.
Pattillo said he was disappointed Rose chose not to take responsibility for his actions. He's considering presenting Rose’s case to a grand jury for felony charges. At the instruction of a judge, Rose turned himself into the Henry County jail. However, he will not be booked into the jail until after his case is presented to a grand jury.
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