The owner, James Franklin Brow, 68, also threatened and attacked a Lake Wales officer when she arrived to intervene, according to the police department.
The officer showed up at Long’s Dry Cleaners, located at 10 West Central Avenue, on Saturday after dispatchers received a call from a customer reporting that Brow had threatened to kill him.
When the officer went to interview Brow and get his side of the story, she said Brow became irate and shut the door on her. He continued to hold the door shut as she tried to get in and only opened it after the officer called for backup, according to officials.
Brow told the officer to leave the property, and she told him he was under arrest, according to police. Authorities said Brow “violently resisted” as the officer tried to take him into custody.
According to officials, Brow hit the officer on the head and punched her in the face several times.
The officer was eventually able to stop the attack, and Brow ran toward the back of his business, authorities said. The officer tried to tase Brow, but it was not effective. It was at that point that police said Brow began making threats against the officer’s life.
She remained in the front lobby of the business and waited for backup to arrive. Police said they unleashed a K-9 on Brow after he refused several commands to get on the ground. He was then handcuffed and taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center due to the K-9 apprehension.
The officer was treated at the scene for her injuries.
Brow was charged with threat of death to a law enforcement officer, misuse of 911, battery of a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, resisting arrest without violence, and assault, according to the police department.
He was previously arrested in 2018 on a domestic violence-related assault charge, and police said they have received numerous calls over the years for disturbances involving customers at Brow’s dry cleaning business.
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