Former NFL defensive back Desmond Marrow released a video of himself being slammed to the ground by white police officers, despite cries that he wasn't resisting or fighting back.
Marrow posted the video of the harrowing incident to Facebook, where he describes getting his teeth knocked out and being choked, all because officers thought he had a gun in his pocket. He didn't. It was only his cell phone.
"I Only Had My Cell Phone in my possession & they claimed to be scared for their lives . I had No type of weapon in my possession , I was arrested for having a Gun that turned out to be my Cell Phone . During the arrest the police knocked my teeth out, slammed me on my head and choked me out until I was unconscious. In addition I suffered a shoulder strain and a concussion along with the heartache of my Wife leaving me during this Very Hard time for my short comings and careless actions. This has affected me mentally and impacted my life in a way I can't even humanly describe . This isn't a cry for sympathy, I just need it to be known . . . My cry is for JUSTICE."
In the video, Marrow is shown being escorted in handcuffs, and then being slammed into an SUV and then into the ground. "It's unbelievable," the videographer can be heard saying. Marrow's pleas for mercy are unmistakable and deeply disturbing.
"I didn't do anything to you all," he can be heard yelling. An officer then begins choking him, prompting cries of "I can't breathe, I can't breathe."
Marrow later added in an interview that he thought he was going to die. One of the officers has been placed on administrative leave.
The video spread like wildfire on Twitter and the incident has attracted national attention.