It was, Desmond Marrow’s attorneys allege, a breathtaking coverup by Henry County police and commissioners, one they believe demands a criminal investigation and mass resignations.
But accountability might be hard to come by, even with significant evidence that reveals stark contradictions between what officials knew about the violent arrest of the former NFL player, when they knew it, and what they led the public to believe about their investigation into the officers involved.
IN-DEPTH: Before dismissal, Henry County cleared cop who choked ex-NFL player
Marrow’s lawyers discovered that Henry County officials — including the police chief, deputy chief, chairwoman of the board of commissioners, and the county manager — had viewed a video shot by a witness of the Dec. 2 arrest showing a police officer choking Marrow, who was in handcuffs. They also had access to dash cam video in which the officer, David Rose, is heard admitting to it and saying, “I’m not going to write it down (in the police report),” Rose added.
Despite that evidence, an internal affairs probe by Maj. Mike Ireland, since promoted to deputy chief, cleared Rose. That report, shared with the board of commissioners, was never made public.
But when the video was posted on Facebook in April, Henry officials acted as if they had never seen it before. This time, based on information they already had, Rose was fired.
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“If that video had not gone viral, nothing would’ve happened (to Rose),” said Marrow co-counsel Chris Stewart, who’s called on Henry District Attorney Darius Pattillo to launch an investigation into how the case was handled. But Pattillo, in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, doesn’t seem so inclined.
“The Henry County District Attorney’s Office is still reviewing the conduct of the officers who were involved in the Dec. 2, 2017, arrest of Desmond Marrow,” Pattillo said. “The District Attorney’s Office does not comment on pending litigation. All inquiries about any civil litigation should be referred to the county attorney.”
(Marrow is suing the county for deprivation of rights, citing the alleged coverup by Henry officials, each of whom are named as defendants.)
For the GBI to get involved, Pattillo, or Henry Police Chief Mark Amerman, would have to make an investigation, said agency spokeswoman Nelly Miles.
Federal intervention is even more unlikely. Soon after taking office, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions effectively ended a program allowing for oversight into local and state law enforcement agencies.
That leaves the state attorney general’s office. Stewart said they are preparing a request to state AG Chris Carr, but such investigations by his office have been rare.
“This case is so significant because for once it shows you what really happens,” Stewart said. “It’s the supervisors, it’s the chiefs, it’s the internal affairs investigators. It’s the shepherd of the flock. It happens all the time.”
Only one county official, Commissioner Bruce Holmes, raised a red flag about how the probe into Rose’s conduct was being handled.
“I’m beginning to feel that people are hiding information,” he wrote in an email to Amerman on Dec. 7.
In an email sent to the AJC, Holmes said the board of commissioners “dropped the ball by not proactively addressing this incident with the public in December.”
“We should have been more transparent with our constituents when we received video and explained how we were going to address this situation with the public while ensuring citizen’s safety,” he wrote. “I hope as we reflect on this incident, we will learn from it and react differently in the future.”
Citing the pending litigation, he declined to say whether a full investigation was necessary.
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