Henry County

Officer fired over video showing him choking former NFL player during arrest

By Tyisha Fernandes, WSB-TV
By Tyisha Fernandes, WSB-TV

HENRY COUNTY, Ga. — A local police officer is out of a job for using excessive force during the arrest of a former football player.

When the story first came to light, Henry County Police Chief Mark Amerman told Channel 2's Tyisha Fernandes that he was going to get the truth about what happened that day, even if it made his officers look bad.

Video of a Henry County police officer choking former NFL player Desmond Marrow during an arrest in December started going viral within the last couple of weeks.

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Marrow told Fernandes that he never thought the officer would ever be held accountable. 

“I was surprised, and I was proud at the same time,” Marrow said. 

“It’s what every chief in the country should do to officers who cross the line,” Marrow’s attorney L. Chris Stewart said. 

Amerman said he put Officer David Rose on administrative duty three weeks before Marrow released the video of the incident. 

The chief said he heard Rose say on his own patrol car video camera system that he did in fact choke Marrow, but he’s not admitting to it in his police report. 

“Officers who cross the line literally don’t care if someone’s recording or if they’re being recorded on their body mic. It doesn’t matter because they know their chief won’t do anything to them so that’s why what the chief did today was so phenomenal,” Stewart told Fernandes. 

The chief said the other officer in the video, Matt Donaldson, who took Marrow to the ground while handcuffed, did not violate policy because Marrow was resisting arrest.

Marrow disagrees, but commends Officer Donaldson for telling the truth during the internal investigation. Now, Marrow said he now just wants his life back.

“I have a head injury that still gives me headaches. There’s flashbacks and sometimes I have like personality changes too, so I want to get that stuff figured out now and then I’ll feel better physically,” Marrow told Fernandes. 

Marrow and his attorney are now pursuing a civil suit against the Henry County Police Department.

They want to see Rose face criminal charges for aggravated assault.

Cox Media Group

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