Antwan Glover case dismissed: Prosecutors don’t want officers on witness stand
LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) — The case against a man seen in a 2022 cell phone video in a physical altercation with Lakeland police officers has been dismissed.
The state attorney’s office did not want to put the officers on the witness stand.
“One or more of the officers involved in the [Antwan] Glover case have subsequently been involved in an unrelated incident that is subject to an ongoing investigation. During the pendency of that investigation, the State Attorney’s Office will not be calling those officers as witnesses,” wrote Jake Orr, a spokesperson for the state attorney’s office in the 10th Judicial Circuit, in a statement.
A Lakeland police spokesperson said Sgt. Mark Eby, Officer Jason McCain, and Officer Anton Jefferson are on administrative leave “due to an unrelated incident that is currently under investigation.”
The fourth officer involved in the Glover case, Officer Dillon Cornn, is on active duty status and is not involved in the current open investigation.
Citing state statutes, Lakeland police did not provide any further details on the investigation.
Antwan Glover was charged with three counts of battery on a law enforcement officer and one count of resisting officers with violence following an incident recorded on cell phone video in December 2022.
Lakeland police officers stopped Glover for not wearing a seatbelt.
Officers told investigators they smelled marijuana and Glover got out of the vehicle.
It was later discovered Glover had a medical marijuana license.
A physical altercation ensued when officers, according to an investigative report, thought Glover’s satchel could contain a weapon.
At one point during the altercation, officers told investigators Glover had one of them in a headlock.
The video shows officers repeatedly punching Glover in the face while he was on the ground.
Officers also used a taser on Glover.
While Glover was arrested, the state attorney’s office declined to charge the officers.
In a June 2023 letter from State Attorney Brian Haas to Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor, Haas cited a report by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement when explaining why he found no charges were appropriate against the officers.
“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,” the letter reads.
On Tuesday, the assistant state attorney in the Glover case filed a notice of nolle prosequi, writing the charges against Glover could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case centered around Glover’s word against the officers’ and prosecutors no longer wanted to call the officers to testify.
Attempts to request an interview with Glover through his attorney and advocates were not successful Thursday.
“He’s excited. He’s been through a lot,” said Pastor Clayton Cowart, with the Poor & Minority Justice Association.
Cowart helped organize demonstrations on Glover’s behalf, calling for the charges to be dropped and for the officers involved to be fired and charged.
“We could have saved the taxpayer some dollars. We could have saved Mr. Antwan Glover some anxiety and even saved on legal fees had this been done since the beginning, starting even at the police department,” said Cowart.
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