LAKELAND, Fla. — Four Lakeland officers will not be charged after a controversial December arrest partially caught on camera in a viral video.
According to a report, on Dec. 18, the Lakeland Police Department stopped a man they said was not wearing a seatbelt. As they stopped the man, they also questioned him about marijuana possession.
That man, Antwan Glover, said he tried to show his medical marijuana license, but officers grabbed him before he was punched, tased, and charged with resisting arrest—Glover and his attorney dispute that charge wholeheartedly.
“I sat in the back of the police car, and I cried. I cried. And I just thank God that they didn’t kill me that night,” Glover said in a December news conference. “What is going on here? Why am I on the ground? Why am I getting punched? What is going on? I have my license. Both of them. Why am I getting abused?”
Now, according to a letter from Brian Haas, the state attorney for the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) investigation of the arrest is complete. After reviewing the FDLE’s findings, Haas concluded that the officers involved in the arrest should not be charged.
In the letter to Lakeland Police Chief Sammy Taylor, Haas wrote the “partial” video “is a misleading representation of the entire incident.”
He said Glover fought officers during the arrest — and even put one in a headlock — which is why officers responded with “body blows, leg sweeps, and other less-than-lethal tactics.”
Haas wrote that the officers also thought a satchel strapped to Glover “contained a deadly weapon.”
“From my review of the report, it is clear to me that…Glover presented an ongoing and escalating threat to the Lakeland Police Officers,” Haas concluded. “Glover is very familiar with arrest procedures, as his record reflects being arrested more than ten times during his life. Glover refused the lawful command of the officers, made the decision to actively fight them and aggressively and violently prevented the officers from securing a satchel that was strapped to his body.”
Terry Coney, the president of Lakeland’s NAACP branch, can’t say if he supports the state attorney’s decision yet, but he is still bothered by what he saw on the video of the arrest.
“I hate to make decisions on a partial video, but the part I saw was disturbing and it looked like excessive force,” Coney said.
Coney will withhold further judgment until he can see the FDLE’s full report.
“Transparency’s always important,” he said.
Sara Jones, Glover’s attorney, told ABC Action News she is holding off on responding to the state attorney's decision until she can also see the FDLE’s report.
ABC Action News has requested a copy from the FDLE. Tuesday, the department said its public records section is working on the request.
Meanwhile, Lakeland Police Department said an administrative investigation of the arrest continues. After the conclusion of the FDLE investigation, the four officers were placed back on “modified” duty and reassigned to other areas until the completion of the internal review.
“This duty status should not be interpreted as anything other than a modification in these officers’ duty assignment,” Chief Taylor clarified in a statement.
At the time of the Dec. 18 arrest, Lakeland Police was only just starting to roll out body cameras for 250 of its officers. The officers involved in the arrest were not wearing cameras.
Tuesday, a spokesperson for the department said all sworn officers are now equipped with cameras.
