LAKELAND, Fla. — In January, Antwan Glover's December 2022 arrest by Lakeland police officers went viral.
Glover says he was wrongfully stopped and called for the arresting officers to face charges after claiming they used excessive force.
But in mid-July, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation cleared those officers of any criminal wrongdoing.
And in a letter to the Lakeland Police Department, State Attorney Brian Haas said the FDLE's report led to his "conclusion that no charges are appropriate against any Lakeland officer involved in this arrest."
Wednesday, the FDLE released an initial summary of that investigation to ABC Action News. The seven-page document gives us a more detailed look into the vantage point of most of the arresting officers.
Sergeant Mark Eby and officers Jason McCain and Anton Jefferson all claim they pulled Glover over for not wearing a seat belt. The two officers say they eventually asked him to step out of the car because they noticed he had marijuana on him.
Officers also told the FDLE that Glover started arguing with them after they asked if he had a weapon in a satchel he'd been wearing around his chest.
We asked law enforcement expert and FGCU forensics professor Dr. David Thomas why the officers would make that assumption.
"It's a very common place to carry a weapon. And for years, law enforcement, we used to carry fanny packs and in your fanny pack would be your firearm," he said.
At this point, there has been no report that a weapon was recovered during this arrest.
The summary report goes on to say that officers then tried arresting Glover.
The officers claim he resisted.
Glover and his family deny that claim.
The arresting officers also admit to tasing Glover three times and punching him in the head and torso.
Dr. Thomas says one of his major concerns is that some of those details never made it into the original police report.
"There are things that just appear to be missing. But a lot of those things are there now. And so, my question is, why weren't they there in the original report?" he said.
Lastly, the report claims that Glover put one of the officers, Dillon Cornn, into a headlock.
Glover has consistently denied this fact and Cornn declined to speak to the FDLE.
Dr. Thomas says that while it's a bit unusual, Officer Cornn has the legal right to decline an FDLE interview.
"That concept is new to me, but it is happening more and more in officer-involved shootings and that precedent has been set. Because the officers have a right against self-incrimination," he said.
In the report, Glover's family also claims that the arresting officers harassed them and even threw one of their phones as they tried to record the arrest.
In the meantime, we are still waiting on the full investigative report from the FDLE—but we have been told that because of a backlog, we likely won't get it for a few months.
The Lakeland Police Department also tells us they are conducting their own internal investigation into this arrest.
As that continues, Glover is still facing charges of resisting arrest and charges for possession of marijuana.
