MOUNT DORA, Florida—A Groveland Police Department officer is under internal investigation and on paid administrative leave after he was arrested last week for felony domestic battery by strangulation.
Joshua Allen Somers, 48, a six-year veteran of GPD and a school resource officer at South Lake High School, was arrested after an altercation with his wife that was captured on surveillance video at a popular restaurant and bar in Mount Dora. The video captured him grabbing her by the hair, striking her head against a wooden guardrail and putting his hand around her neck, according to an arrest affidavit.
On July 18, MDPD responded to Frogger’s Bar and Grill, 4931 Lake Park Court after a report of a fight. The manager said at around 6:25 p.m. he was made aware of a fight on the patio and when he walked out, no one was fighting but there was a lot of yelling between a customer he knew as Joshua and someone else whose name is redacted from the affidavit. Although the victim’s name is redacted from the affidavit due to Marsy’s Law, it does state she later told MDPD officers she has been married to Somers for about 10 years. The pair left before the manager could talk to them about what happened, but the video confirmed the allegations and the manager told employees to call police, according to the affidavit.
Somers was identified by full name through his credit card receipt and officers found he worked for GPD during a social media search. Officers then confirmed his employment with GPD.
MDPD spoke to several witnesses and also viewed the video that showed the victim sitting on the patio, near wooden guardrails. In the video, Somers, who appeared to be angry, approached the victim and had what police believe was a brief conversation with her; the video did not capture audio from the incident. Somers then walks toward the side entrance, abruptly stops and walks back over to the victim, the affidavit states.
Somers is seen placing his ear directly in front of the victim’s mouth “in an apparent attempt to intimidate her from speaking,” he then grabs her hair and forcibly hits her head against the railing and finally places his hand around her neck “in a fashion consistent with strangulation,” the arresting officer wrote in the affidavit.
MDPD found that Somers lives in Eustis and contacted the Eustis Police Department road patrol sergeant on duty who approved MDPD to respond to the home. Accompanied by EPD officers, MDPD spoke with Somers, who said he was at Frogger’s with the victim and said he was in an argument with her but was “adamant” he had “simply” grabbed her hair and not battered her in any other manner. “During this conversation it was evident that Joshua was heavily intoxicated and likely not going to provide any further pertinent information regarding the investigation,” the arresting officer noted in the affidavit.
Police spoke with the victim, who was also heavily intoxicated and “extremely hesitant” to speak to them about the incident but did say he grabbed her by the hair. Officers explained they had watched a video of the altercation and she became upset and stopped providing information to the officers who observed minor redness around her neck. Somers was arrested for battery by strangulation and transported to the Lake County Jail, where he was later released on $2,000 bond.
Inside Lake reached out to GPD to ask about the arrest and status of Somers’ employment.
“On Wednesday, July 19, 2023, the Groveland Police Department was informed that one of our officers had been arrested for a domestic violence-related offense. The charges are concerning and do not reflect our values or the high level of service and conduct to which we hold our employees, both on and off-duty. Per department policy, the officer was immediately placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation to be conducted by Mount Dora Police Department and any subsequent internal administrative investigation to be concluded by members of the Groveland Police Department. All charges against our employees – especially those of this nature – are taken very seriously and every member of our team will be held accountable for their actions,” GPD said in a statement.
Somers has not had any previous disciplinary actions during his employment at GPD.
