Polk County activists are calling for answers after videos posted on social media show a man punched by a Lakeland Police officer several times.
The incident happened during an arrest on Dec. 18, when 36-year-old Antwan Glover was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt. A strong smell of marijuana prompted officers to ask Glover to step outside the vehicle.
According to an affidavit, Glover created a struggle when officers asked him to place his hands behind his back. The affidavit states Glover resisted arrest and placed an officer in a chokehold.
In a video obtained by Lakeland Gazette, Glover is already on the ground when he’s punched repeatedly.
Dr. Clayton Cowart with the Poor and Minority Justice Association said he’s disappointed by the footage.
“If the tables were turned and there was a citizen that was beating an officer, that citizen would’ve been shot,” Cowart said.
Cowart told the drrrdmedia his office has filed a complaint with the Lakeland Police Department due to the video.
“These officers have issues, and it needs to be dealt with. They don’t need to be on the streets,” he said.
One concern Cowart has is that other officers didn’t step in when the unnamed officer went for the second round of punches.
“What I’m concerned about is the gentlemen seems to be comfortable doing this around other officers, there are officers there that should have brought him in check,” Cowart said.
Lakeland Gazette wanted to see the entire incident from the beginning, so we asked Lakeland Police if body camera footage was available. The agency responded by saying those officers weren’t equipped with cameras.
Terry Coney with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) of Lakeland said he wished video from the entire incident was available to understand how things escalated.
“The video we saw was that final snippet and from that portion, it really gives a bad view of that incident,” Coney said.
About time someone stood ip to bad police officers in Florida.
Are the car cameras being examined. Lakeland police department own policy shows the car cams should be working. However they are known to cover up their abuses to black citizens. The citizens review board is a joke
About time! The same Police department that will arrest a 13 year old girl with a bull horn for yelling my body my choice, but allow Nazis to come into our town, project hate speech and violence, which is illegal, unto a building in front of children, and now the police force that will punch an unarmed black man while he’s on the ground. Nothing to be proud of. Nothing at all.
What else is new in Polkkk County?
I Believes that it is time to stop LAKELAND Police Department because they feel like they are untouchable because they feel Grady Judd going to stand behind them even when they are wrong a black man don’t have a chance because I believe all Lakeland white policeman is KKK and trying to hurt are kill all black men. It’s not safe for them to get pulled over BY LPD WOMEN AND MEN AND It’s time to stop them period.