Four officers in Lakeland’s Street Crimes Unit resign after investigation into policy violations

Four Lakeland Police officers resigned on Wednesday following a lengthy investigation into their conduct during a March 2024 traffic stop.

The four officers who resigned are members of LPD’s Street Crimes Unit, which has come under public scrutiny in recent years:

• Sgt. Mark Eby, 60, who served 29 years.

• Officer Jason McCain, 48, who served 11 years.

• Officer Anton Jefferson, 38, who served eight years.

• Officer Jim Simon, 32, who served seven years.

Chief Sam Taylor first recommended the individuals should be fired in a Nov. 26 memo.

“The decision to terminate these officers is a necessary measure to reinforce the integrity of our policies, protect our community and uphold the standards expected of all members of this department,” Taylor wrote.

Missing video, evidence in March 2024 arrest

An investigation into the four officers’ behavior was launched following a March 21 traffic stop in North Lakeland. That night, the police department has responded to a service call for “shots filed.”

On March 21, the four officers were riding around in a black, unmarked Chevy Tahoe in North Lakeland, according to Taylor’s summary of events. The four officers attempted to perform a traffic stop on a silver vehicle with a 23-year-old man.

When the officers attempted to pull the man over, he fled and the officers pursued him for several miles through the neighborhood using lights and sirens as necessary at intersections. The man eventually jumped out of his vehicle and fled on foot. After a short pursuit, he was arrested on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest for fleeing on foot and possession of marijuana.

When the evidence of the man’s arrest was filed with the State Attorney’s Office, Taylor wrote in his memo that the video evidence didn’t seem complete. There were multiple short videos that captured portions of the event, but not full or complete videos, according to Taylor’s November 2024 memo. None of the officers’ reports made any mention of a motor vehicle pursuit, Taylor said.

“The actions appeared to show officers intentionally turning off recording devices, both in-car and body-worn cameras, while pursuing a vehicle that fled after these officers attempted a traffic stop.,” Taylor wrote.

By April, Lakeland’s Office of Professional Standards was made aware of the video discrepancies and within a day or two contacted the State Attorney’s Office.

On April 30, Taylor signed the complaint filed on the arrest to open LPD’s Administrative Investigation. All four officers were placed on administrative leave.

The department reached out to Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which opened an investigation on May 3.

Were the officers’ actions criminal?

State Attorney Brian Haas was asked to review the officers’ action, video records and affidavits to determine whether those involved had performed any criminal actions.

On July 26, Haas wrote a letter to Taylor in which he declined to pursue criminal charges against the four officers but had concerns.

“However, the report and my observations of the manipulation of BWC [body worn cameras] and in-car video during the pursuit causes me great concern,” Haas wrote. “…[I]t appears that the four officers involved in this incident have come to believe that the rules that apply to other LPD officers do not apply to them.”

Haas said the officers’ behavior made clear that there was either an insufficiency of training on body cameras and in-car cameras or disregard for the police department’s training and policies regarding their use.

The state attorney wrote it was “alarming how comfortable the officers were with routinely turning off the cameras as soon as they were activated.”

Taylor would later state in his November memo that the officers’ actions were found to violate the police department’s pursuit and body-worn camera policies.

Haas wrote that he was concerned that the officers couldn’t be considered reliable in current and future cases. He indicated that many cases submitted by these officers would have to be dismissed and future cases would have to receive heightened scrutiny.

Lakeland residents had voiced concerns

Three of the officers who resigned, Eby, Jefferson and McCain, had previously been accused of using excessive force or failing to write reports that accurately reflected events.

On Dec. 18, 2022, Lakeland resident Antwan Glover accused the three officers of using excessive force against him during a traffic stop by tasing him repeatedly and punching him. Black Live Matters Restoration Polk Inc. leaders called for the officers’ resignation at that time.

In January 2023, BLM Restoration Polk asked FDLE to launch an investigation into the Lakeland Police Department and various officers accused of using excessive force, including Eby, Jeffferson and McCain while members of the Street Crimes Unit.

The officers did not face criminal charges from the State Attorney’s Office related to Glover’s arrest. Similarly, the charges against Glover were ultimately dropped.

Members of Lakeland’s Northwest community spoke openly with The Ledger about their fear and distrust of the members of the Street Crime Unit following Glover’s accusations. Part of their reasoning was what they felt were discriminatory traffic stops, searches into vehicles and stop-and-frisks of individuals.

Pastor Clayton Cowart of the Poor and Minority Justice Association said he has helped individuals file approximately 10 to 15 complaints against the four officers who resigned over the past two years.

“I’ve been dealing with this for over two years. From 10 to 15 complaints from citizens in the community who told them these officers were lying on reports, abusive to citizens,” he said. “This could have been prevented. We shouldn’t be here today.”

Clayton said he thinks the officers involved should have been terminated.

Officers received negotiated settlements, not fired

The police department’s administrative investigation found the complaints made against the officers originally to be sustained and recommended that they be terminated.

However, each of the four officers has reached a negotiated settlement with the city.

“The negotiation of these separation agreements represents an appropriate resolution to violations of department policies,” City Manager Shawn Sherrouse wrote in a prepared statement. “The men and women of the Lakeland Police Department face significant risks in the performance of their duties and often encounter complex situations requiring split-second decisions. We vehemently support our officers. However, certain policy violations are unacceptable and must be addressed accordingly.”

Each of the four officers’ complaints changed from “sustained” to “unsustained.” However, they received disciplinary action of a three-day suspension, effective from Nov. 27 through Nov. 29. Each officer was then “irrevocably” retired or voluntarily resigned retroactive to Nov. 30.

Eby, having 29 years with the police department, submitted his notice of retirement on Wednesday.

As part the agreement, each of the officers waived his right to appeal the city’s decision, pull the matter into arbitration or challenge any disciplinary actions taken by the city.

“I think everyone felt it was in the best interest of the citizens, the agency and the members to come up with agreement to let everyone separate and go their own separate ways,” said Bill Lawless, Lakeland’s regional representative with the Fraternal Order of Police.

Lawless said the Lakeland officers had the right to bring these issues into arbitration, which could have potentially cost the union and city taxpayer’s a lot of money.

“There were no serious, clear violations on anybody’s part,” he told The Ledger. “There was nothing of moral turpitude or anything that could have been criminal. It was policy violations. It really doesn’t warrant it. I don’t believe it warranted termination of any kind.”

Given the circumstances, Lawless said it’s possible trust was lost on both sides — the city and police department, and each of the individual officers. He said he believed the negotiated settlements allowed for a “clean separation.”

“I think everyone felt it was in the best interest of the citizens, the agency, the members to come up with agreement to let everyone separate and go their own separate ways,” he said.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: 4 officers in Lakeland’s Street Crimes Unit resign after investigation