ATLANTA -- A Georgia police officer has been fired for using unnecessary force while arresting Desmond Marrow, a former college football player at Toledo, after a video of the incident circulated widely online.
Henry County Police Chief Mark Amerman said in an emailed statement Thursday that Officer David Rose was fired after an internal investigation into the arrest of Marrow in a shopping center parking lot in McDonough, just south of Atlanta, on Dec. 2.
In the one-minute video clip, officers can be seen forcefully taking a handcuffed Marrow to the ground by sweeping his legs out from under him as he yells, "I'm not even fighting back." When Marrow was on the ground, an officer put his hand on Marrow's throat for several seconds and Marrow said, "I can't breathe," while another officer told him to settle down.
Amerman said Rose was recorded on his in-car camera system saying he had choked Marrow and that he didn't intend to include that in his report.
It was not immediately clear whether Rose had an attorney who could comment on his firing.
The community's district attorney said Thursday that he does not plan to seek felony charges against Marrow for obstruction of a law enforcement officer. His office's investigation into the use of force continues.
Marrow played cornerback for the Toledo Rockets but wasn't drafted out of college. He signed a contract in 2012 with the Houston Texans but was cut during preseason. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers picked him up, but he didn't make the team.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.