Man Says He Was Duct-Taped By Navy Police

By Jackelyn Barnard First Coast News

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- It was early on a Sunday morning and Glen Lewis was on his way to his shop just off Mayport Road.

"I was coming down Wonderwood drive, approaching Mayport road," says Lewis.

He says it was at this intersection his life changed forever.

Lewis was getting ready to make a turn when a car drove by and threw something out of the window. It hit his truck and damaged it.

"I went after the car." Lewis says within minutes, he went from being a free man to being handcuffed, taken behind the gates at Naval Station Mayport, where he says he was tortured. "You see it on T.V. You see how mistreat people in Iraq, you don't really think it's going to happen here but it did."

The First Coast News I-team has obtained copies of pictures of what Lewis is describing. The pictures show him handcuffed, confined to a chair and his mouth duct-taped shut. Lewis says he got in there after Navy police caught up with him just outside of Mayport.

The car he was chasing made it inside Mayport. Lewis did not.

"The officer came up to me. I was trying to tell him what happened and he was telling me to shut up."

Mayport officials won't talk about what happened on that night two years ago. They've referred us to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The U.S. Attorney's Office won't talk either because the case is in litigation. But First Coast News found someone who will talk.

"It's disgusting."

He works for the Navy's police department and he knows all about that night. We can't tell you why he has this direct knowledge for safety reasons and fear of retaliation.

We've agreed to not reveal his identity. So, we will call him Joe.

"He was assaulted. It was excessive use of force and it should not have happened," says Joe.

Joe says Lewis was brought on base and was held in the police department's holding room and it was there things got out of control.

"The only thing Mr. Lewis did was use vulgar language and yell out loud because he was upset," says Joe.

"I was so mad. First my truck was damaged, second no one wants to listen at all. I said this is b.s. and I called him a name and he didn't like what I called him. At that time, he just freaked out. He grabbed me by the throat and threw me against the wall and then he threw me down on the ground," says Lewis.

"He again warned him(Lewis) to be quiet. When he(Lewis) refused, he taped his face shut with duct tape. It was two strands of tape," says Joe.

"When he put the tape over my mouth, I really couldn't breathe. I was almost trying to get my tongue out to open up a breathing path and that's when he saw me and he grabbed another one and placed it over the top of my mouth," says Lewis.

A number of officers saw what was going on and someone started taking pictures.

"One of the officers involved submitted the camera with the disk to his supervisor," says Joe.

"It's my understanding the camera was turned into the Navy and the camera disappeared," says attorney Stephen DeNigris.

DeNigris is the attorney representing two Mayport police officers who turned in their supervisor for attacking Lewis.

"The officers that came forward, they made career decisions when they decided to come forward with this information."

One of the whistleblowers died a few months ago from a brain aneurysm. Some of his fellow officers say it was from the stress he was under in the case. His family says it's not linked.

The attorney representing the officers accused in the incident released a statement to First Coast News. Reginald Lusters says there's no evidence in the public record showing his clients were responsible.

"Once it was made known that someone had duct-taped the Plaintiff, Glen Lewis, instructions were given for the immediate removal of the duct tape."

As for Lewis, he is trying to move on. "I'm very grateful for them because I know it was very hard on them."

That night, police charged Lewis with reckless driving and DUI. He says no field sobriety or breathalyzer tests were done.

Lewis went to trial and was found not guilty.

Cleared of the charges, he is now suing the Navy, some of the police officers and high ranking Naval officers. "It's hard to forget being treated like a terrorist being tortured. It's a hard thing to forget."

©2010 First Coast News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.