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Antwan Glover arrested again by same officer in viral 2022 arrest, police release bodycam video

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Published  September 3, 2024 6:39pm EDT
Lakeland
FOX 13 News

Man at center of viral arrest gets arrested again

Antwan Glover, whose 2022 arrest in Lakeland went viral after he was punched and tased during a traffic stop, has been arrested again by one of the same officers involved in that case.

LAKELAND, Fla. - Lakeland's Chief of Police is addressing the most recent arrest of a man who was at the center of a viral arrest back in 2022. Antwan Glover had charges dropped against him earlier this year after he was punched and tased by an officer during a traffic stop. Just days ago, the same officer who was involved in that incident arrested Glover again.

Chief Sam Taylor held a news conference Tuesday afternoon where he released bodycam and dashcam of the incident.

On Friday, Aug. 30, Lakeland Police officers were in the Bon Air Street neighborhood because they were conducting patrols and surveillance of known gang areas. In the passenger seat of the marked patrol car was Detective Dillon Cornn.

Courtesy: Lakeland Police Dept.

Cornn and the other officer behind the wheel stopped a white Kia for failing to stop at a stop sign and for not wearing a seatbelt. Chief Taylor says the officer ran the plate which came back to a woman and Cornn recognized Glover as the driver. The chief says Corrn knew Glover had a suspended driver's license from a previous incident.

Chief Taylor says Glover refused commands to park and instead drove to his grandmother's house nearby. While there, the chief says Glover was told 30 times to get out of his car and only began complying after the threat of being tased.

Courtesy: Lakeland Police Dept.

The 2022 viral video shot by Glover's stepdaughter shows then Officer Cornn punching Glover in the back, chest, and head during another routine traffic stop on West Ninth Street. Police say the use of force escalated because Glover put an officer in a headlock but the state attorney dropped the charges because they couldn't be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

PREVIOUS: Charges dropped for Lakeland man at center of violent 2022 arrest

The chief says Detective Cornn did nothing wrong during the Friday incident and both officers were very restrained.

"Obviously, he knew who this was and the history and this was an issue so obviously that probably played a role in his response, but I will tell you we work hard to take the punching away, although it's lawful, it's awful and it looks bad on video," said Taylor.

In response to claims the department has a track record of police brutality, the chief said, "I think the case of certain activist groups that want to generate that narrative, and they use incidents like this. They use Antwan Glover as their poster child for this, which I think is absolutely... I mean, look at his criminal history. It's terrible."

RELATED: 4 officers justified in ‘use of force’ during viral arrest of Antwan Glover, state attorney says

Glover was charged with driving with a suspended license, possessing a suspended license, possessing cannabis and resisting an officer without violence.

The chief adds a complaint has not yet been filed in this case.

FOX 13 did attempt to reach one of those groups supporting Glover for comment, but we are still waiting to hear back.

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