A police officer has been suspended after a video showed former NFL player Desmond Marrow being slammed to the ground and roughly handled during an arrest in Henry County, Georgia.
Desmond Marrow, 30, a former University of Toledo cornerback, was arrested on December 2 and has been trying to fight the police over their conduct for some time. But last week, Marrow took to his Facebook account to detail his story.
Police say they thought Marrow was armed when they took him down that day, but after the arrest, it was discovered that Marrow only had a cell phone in his pocket, according to Pro Football Talk.
The arrest had been deemed justified, but after Marrow published video of the event, police Chief Mark Amerman launched an internal review.
“Although at the time of arrest an initial use of force review was conducted by internal affairs, earlier this month police Chief Mark Amerman ordered an internal affairs investigation to be conducted,” Henry County police Capt. Joey Smith said according to Pro Football Talk. “As of today, the officer involved is on administrative duty pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Marrow’s attorneys, Andrea Boyd and Chris Stewart, alleged that officers perpetrated a hate crime against the former player, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
“He was called racial slurs by two white males while driving and had hot coffee thrown in his vehicle by these individuals,” the attorney’s statement read. “He then followed the individuals and a discussion ensued.
“We are working to determine why the [officers] resorted to this level of violence with a man who was already handcuffed and complying with orders,” the attorneys concluded. “We are also investigating why the [officers] lied and included false information on their report.”
Marrow added on his Facebook page, “During the arrest, the police knocked my teeth out, slammed me on my head and choked me out until I was unconscious.”
Marrow was charged with several offenses, according to the AJC:
Marrow was charged with making terroristic threats and obstruction, both felonies, and reckless driving and aggressive driving, both misdemeanors, according to the Henry District Attorney’s Office. A magistrate judge later dropped the terrorist threats charge and the case was transferred to the DA’s office, which must now decide if the case will be presented to a grand jury.
Marrow was signed undrafted by the Houston Texans on 2012 but was released before the season got under way. He then signed on with the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos in 2013 and again in 2014 but didn’t get much out of the experience after being cut both times.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.
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