A former Henry County police officer was indicted June 27 by a grand jury in connection with an incident 18 months ago during which he allegedly used excessive force when apprehending a suspect.

  David Rose was charged with two counts of violation of oath by a public officer and one count each of simple battery, false official writings, and making a false statement.

  Rose was fired from the Henry County Police Department in May of 2018 after a review of his actions December 2, 2017 when he arrested Desmond Marrow after a traffic stop. Rose was responding to a report of aggressive driving in the parking lot of Target in the Henry Town Center retail complex on Jonesboro Road at I-75.

  According to a statement from the Henry County District Attorney’s Office, Rose choked Marrow after putting him on the ground and handcuffing him behind his back. The incident was captured on video, as were statements by Rose concerning the incident.

  Rose gave a different version of the incident in his own report and was terminated after three years with the department. Marrow was initially charged with terroristic threats, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer, reckless driving and aggressive driving. All of those charges were dismissed. At the time District Attorney Darius Pattillo said there was not enough evidence on the two felony charges to present to a grand jury.

  The investigation of the incident included a review of multiple 911 calls and video prior to the police arriving on the scene, as well as audio and video from dashboard cameras in officers’ patrol cars and a camera from a nearby business.

  The case received national media attention in part because Marrow, a former National Football League player, is black and the officers involved are white. The other officer involved was cleared of wrongdoing by the HCPD’s internal affairs division.

  The District Attorney’s Office presented the case to the grand jury after Rose rejected a plea offer to a single misdemeanor charge with a sentence of probation and surrendering his police certification.