Change in plea surprises father of ex-NFL player

Staff report

The father of former NFL player Desmond Marrow said he is surprised that a Henry County, Ga., ex-policeman, David Rose, changed his plea of guilty to a criminal charge of simple battery to not guilty in Desmond’s recent arrest.

According to 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner, bystanders videotaped Desmond’s arrest, which was the result of a road-rage incident in which Desmond was trying to catch and get the license number of two young white men who threw coffee at him and his son and yelled racial slurs.

Duane Marrow, a Mahoning Valley area law-enforcement officer himself, said a driver called police, thinking Desmond’s phone was a gun, but there was no gun. “My son gave permission to police twice to search his vehicle, and they did not find a gun because there was no gun. My son told me they slammed him on his head and choked him,” Duane said.

Duane, who works for the Federal Department of Corrections, said his son, who respects police, is now fearful, suffers from a concussion, has PTSD and lost his business as a result.”

“I’m in law enforcement. I love law enforcement. I respect law enforcement. But we can be wrong, and when we are wrong, we have to answer for that,” he said.

Rose’s new attorney told reporters her client could not plead guilty to something that makes him a criminal, and that they intend to fight the charges.