A 30-year-old black man is accusing Georgia police officers of brutality after sharing a video that appears to show him being violently arrested and slammed to the ground.
Desmond Marrow, who in 2012 made a single appearance for the NFL‘s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, posted the video of his arrest to Facebook on Thursday.
The video shows a handcuffed Marrow being held against the back of a pickup truck in a parking lot, as he is heard saying to the police officers, “I’m not even doing nothing, I’m not even fighting back, I’m not even fighting back!”
One of the officers then lifts Marrow’s leg and slams him to the ground.
A bystander is heard saying, “This is unbelievable,” as Marrow begins to cry and scream, imploring with the officers and telling them that he’s not resisting.
An officer then grabs Marrow by the throat, and he is heard making choking sounds and repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe!” in a high-pitched voice. He then appears to go limp.
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In his Facebook post, Marrow claims he was being arrested because police suspected he was carrying a gun, which turned out to be his cellphone. He says he was later held in solitary confinement, and that police later tried to drop the charges after they found out he was a former NFL player, and learned of the video’s existence.
“I was fully cooperating with the officers with ZERO resistance. I thought I was going to die. I was sure I was passing out or dying when Officer #D.Rose was choking me as my breath kept slipping away. Henry county police dept was trying to keep me quiet, but once they found out I was a former #NFLplayer & there was a video of the incident did they then try to drop my charges. They were basically trying to get me to sell my soul in exchange for the video not being posted and they would drop all the felonies and clear my record. They said I was resisting arrest, being out of control, spitting and assaulting the Officers by head butting them. But GOD recorded it and I have PROOF! You know the truth take a lil longer to make it around lies travel faster.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Marrow’s lawyers said the incident took place after the former college football player was called a racial slur by a pair of white men while driving and followed them in his vehicle, with the ensuing confrontation resulting in a witness calling 911 and falsely reporting that Marrow was carrying a weapon.
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Marrow was charged with making terrorist threats, reckless driving and aggressive driving, NBC affiliate WXIA-TV reported, although the Journal-Constitution reported that the terrorist threat charge was later dropped.
The Journal-Constitution cited Henry County Police Chief Mark Amerman stating that “the officer involved” has been placed on administrative duty.