DA: No Charges Against NFL Vet Slammed By Cops

ATLANTA, GA — There will be no felony criminal charges filed against Desmond Marrow, a former NFL player shown on video being slammed and choked by metro Atlanta police officers, the district attorney in the case said Thursday.

Meanwhile, an investigation into the actions of the officers is ongoing.

Henry County District Attorney Darius Pattillo announced that, after a review of the case, a felony charge of obstruction of a law enforcement officer against Marrow is being dismissed. Another charge — of making terroristic threats — already had been thrown out by Henry County's solicitor.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

"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," Pattillo said in a news release.

Last month, Marrow — a University of Toledo alum who played cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012 — posted a video to Facebook showing him being slammed to the ground and choked by Henry County Police officers. (Watch the video below.)

According to Marrow, officers claimed that they thought his cellphone was a handgun.

In the video, two Henry County Police officers slam Marrow into the back of a pickup truck, then onto the ground. As they do, one of them threatens to use a taser on Marrow. Marrow can be heard repeatedly saying, "I'm not even fighting back," as they force him to the ground.

On the ground, Marrow appears to be crying as he shouts, "I didn't even do nothing to y'all!" and, as he begins to shout something else, one of the officers grabs him by the throat and holds it.

"I can't breathe! I can't breathe!," Marrow shouts, until the officer eventually takes his hand off of Marrow's throat.

The incident happened in McDonough, the seat of Henry County about 35 miles south of Atlanta along Interstate 75.

On Facebook, Marrow wrote that he had teeth knocked out in the Dec. 2 incident and that officers "choked me out until I was unconscious." In the video, he appears unresponsive after the officer removes his hand from Marrow's throat. The video ends abruptly after that.

In the release, Pattillo said a "use of force and officer-involved death review panel" created by his office is continuing to investigate the officers' conduct during the arrest. The panel, which includes Pattillo, his chief investigator and a use-of-force expert, is tasked with deciding whether their actions were justified based on state law and police policies.

"We are currently waiting for the police department to complete its internal affairs investigation to proceed with our use of force review," Pattillo said.

Marrow still faces reckless driving and aggressive driving charges related to the incident. Pattillo said those are being transferred to the solicitor-general's office, which handles those lesser charges.

In his Facebook post, Marrow wrote that he has been working as an athletic trainer. He said he also suffered a shoulder strain and a concussion. He says he did not have a weapon, only his cellphone, but that the officers "claimed to be scared for their lives."

He says he was put in isolation and labeled a gang member because of his tattoos, but that when officers learned he was a former NFL player and that there was a video of his arrest they tried to drop the charges.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Marrow played college football at University of Toledo. He played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2012, appearing in two preseason games and not compiling any regular-season statistics, according to NFL.com.

Despite all the major charges against Marrow having been dropped, Pattillo noted in the news release that the video "is only a portion of the events of Dec. 2, 2017 and is not representative of all of the facts of the case."

“It is my responsibility as district attorney to fully investigate all felony crimes that occur in Henry County based on facts, evidence and the law, and not be swayed by outside influences,” he said. "This case was investigated no differently than any other case we handle and was given the full resources of my staff, as are all felony crimes that occur in our jurisdiction."

Pattillo did not say why the investigation happened after the video was released in April and not immediately in December, when the arrest happened.

Photo, video via YouTube