Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators have cleared four Lakeland Police officers of any wrongdoing during a videotaped stop last December.
FDLE officials said LPD Sgt. Mark Eby, Detective Dillon Cornn, and Officers Anton Jefferson and Jason McCain acted appropriately during the Dec. 18 arrest of Antwan Glover, 36, which was videotaped by Glover’s step-daughter.
FDLE’s report echos the arrest affidavit of Glover and Haas’ letter.
State Attorney Brian Haas wrote in a letter to Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor that his office will take no further action regarding the improper use of force complaint made by Glover.
“From my review of the report, it is clear to me that during his arrest on December 18, 2022, Antwan Glover presented an ongoing and escalating threat to the Lakeland Police Officers,” Haas wrote. “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. The officers, with good reason, suspected the satchel contained a deadly weapon.”
Haas stated that Glover’s violence escalated to the point that he placed Cornn in a headlock, wrapping his entire arm around the officer’s neck.
“One of the officers on scene, Officer Anton Jefferson, expressed serious concern that Glover was going to choke Officer Cornn,” Haas wrote. “Officer Jefferson further stated that the headlock continued for a period of time to cause Officer Jefferson to fear for Officer Cornn’s wellbeing. According to Officer Jefferson, even after Officer Cornn was able to escape the headlock, Glover was ‘still fighting, kicking and punching.’”
The four officers had been placed on paid administrative leave, during which they were required to be available to their supervisors and investigators. They were not authorized to work extra duty details or exercise police authority.
On Tuesday, Taylor said LPD has resumed an internal administrative investigation, “which remains active and ongoing.” He added that the four have been placed back on a modified duty status, reassigned to other areas within the department and restricted from working extra duty details.
“These duty modifications will remain in effect until the investigation is completed,” Taylor said, adding that “this duty status change should not be interpreted as anything other than a modification in these officers’ duty assignments. No additional details can be provided until the conclusion of the administrative investigation.”
Black Lives Matter Restoration Polk Inc. co-founder Jarvis Washington said he had provided LPD with additional videos of Jefferson and McCain arresting other people and using what he said was excessive force.
Glover’s step-daughter, 17-year-old Isabella Cannon, videotaped the arrest and posted 27 seconds of that video to social media. It shows Cornn repeatedly punching Glover and Jefferson tazing him.
As the video begins, Glover’s daughter and an unidentified woman in a bathrobe walk around the back of Glover’s car, which she said was parked in front of their home. The unidentified woman is heard saying, “Don’t hit him” and a uniformed officer responds, “Then he needs to quit fighting.”
An affidavit written by Jefferson shows that the three were patrolling the 400 block of West 9th Street in a black, unmarked police SUV that is equipped with red and blue police lights, a spotlight and a siren. All the officers were wearing black police clothes, including black tactical vests with “POLICE” in large white lettering on both the front and back. Jefferson said the area is known as a high-crime area involving drugs.
Residents of that neighborhood have appeared before the City Commission in the last six months to ask that Lakeland Police increase patrols in that neighborhood because of blatant drug dealing and prostitution.
At about 12:14 a.m. on Dec. 19, Jefferson wrote in the report that they saw Glover “rolling” – travelling 3-5 mph — in his black BMW and said they noticed he was not wearing a seatbelt, a violation of Florida law.
McCain shined his flashlight into Glover’s car and confirmed he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. They pulled him over and then McCain approached the driver’s side of the car and began speaking with Glover. McCain said he could see a cannabis cigar “in plain sight” located near a cupholder. McCain said he also smelled the distinct odor of marijuana.
Glover told the officer that he has a medical marijuana card.
McCain ordered Glover out of the car and tried to remove a bag from around his neck. The arrest affidavit states that Glover pulled away from McCain and pushed the officer as McCain tried to place him in handcuffs. McCain then took Glover to the ground. It also states that as Cornn tried to help McCain gain control of Glover’s hands, Glover put Cornn in a headlock.
That’s where the video begins. His step-daughter is videotaping as she walks behind Glover’s car and toward where he is on the ground. McCain and Cornn can be seen struggling with Glover. The two officers are bent over Glover and Glover is seen squirming on the ground.
“Hey! Stop punching my dad!” his step-daughter yells. Jefferson is seen removing his yellow taser from its holster. Glover’s daughter maneuvers around the scuffle as the unidentified woman steps in front of the recording.
Glover is then seen lying still on his back, his knees up and his hands on the ground on either side of his head. His daughter yells not to tase him, but the click-click-click-click sound of the taser being deployed is then heard. When the taser stops, Glover immediately tries to sit up and starts talking to the officers, who begin repeatedly punching him again. What he tried to say is unintelligible on the video.
Glover’s step-daughter then posted the video to social media, including a box of text superimposed on it that says: “Yall BEAT MY FATHER WHILE HIS HANDS WAS UP !! & The Car Was Parked infront OF Our House WHEN Will This STOPPPPP” (sic)
Haas called the “partial video” of the arrest “a misleading representation of the entire incident. The complete FDLE report provides critical context and information that leads to my conclusion that no charges are appropriate against any Lakeland Police Officer involved in this arrest.”
Lakeland Police spokeswoman Robin Tillett said at the time that the street crimes unit had not yet been issued the newly implemented body cameras when the incident took place, as the department was rolling out the cameras and conducting training in phases. Patrol officers in marked, black and white cars, were receiving the cameras first.
NAACP Lakeland Branch President Terry Coney on Tuesday praised Taylor for bringing in FDLE to investigate the matter, although he said he is disappointed with the findings.
“The video I saw, the actions of the police officers on the scene were very questionable,” Coney said. “The little snippet that I saw didn’t give me everything that happened from start to finish, so I don’t want to judge on that short video. It’s important for our society to be able to work with and trust the actions of our law enforcement and our judicial systems. So, if Mr. Glover is not happy with the outcome from the independent agency, his next step is through his legal representation, to file suit or follow the advice of his legal representation and file another complaint.”
Glover remain charged with three felonies in connection to the incident: resisting an officer with violence, battery on a law enforcement officer, and possession of cannabis over 20 grams. He is also charged with misdemeanor possession and use of drug paraphernalia. He is also charged with having an open container of alcohol in his car and not wearing a seatbelt.
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