Shocking footage shows Florida cop punching driver in the face during explosive traffic stop
William McNeil Jr., 22, was pulled over by cops from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO) on February 19.
The shocking footage of the incident shared on Sunday showed JSO officers breaking McNeil's window, punching him in the face, pulling him out of his car, then striking him again as they threw him to the ground to arrest him.
A police report obtained by News4Jax stated that McNeil was pulled over after an officer allegedly saw his headlights and taillights were off in inclement weather.
McNeil's dashboard camera video begins with him discussing why he was pulled over with another officer, who is on the passenger side of the car.
'When he pulled me over, he walked up and I opened my door because my window doesn't work, and I said, "What did I do wrong?"' McNeil said.
'He said, "Well, for one, your headlights are off under this weather." I'm like there's multiple people with their headlights off first of all, and then there's no rain.'
The officer whom McNeil was talking to replied, 'It doesn't matter. You're still required to have headlights on.'
McNeil asked the officer to show him the law that requires that, and the officer told him he would once he stepped out of the vehicle.
Then McNeil asked the officer to call his supervisor when another cop smashed his window and punched him in the face while shouting at him to exit the vehicle.
The police report claims that McNeil was given multiple warnings that officers were going to break the window.
However, the video showed that only one officer was heard saying, 'Alright, go for it,' seconds before smashing the glass.
The report also claimed that McNeil was not wearing his seatbelt. However, the video showed McNeil was wearing his seatbelt, and the officer unbuckled it himself.
In the police report, the officer alleged that he believed McNeil was reaching for a knife under his seat and was 'continuing to pull away from officers' during his arrest.
The video showed that the officer who broke the window and punched McNeil asked him to show his hands, which McNeil complied with.
McNeil was then pulled out of the car after the officer unbuckled him and was punched by a second officer as a group of them forced him to the ground.
While McNeil is on the ground, an officer shouted, 'What is wrong with you?' and as he tried to reply that he was putting his hands behind his back, the cops tell him to stop talking.
McNeil told NewsJax4 that he suffered injuries to his face and brain during the arrest.
'I suffered a chipped tooth; my tooth went through my lip, and they slammed me on the ground and on the concrete. I had to get nine stitches. I also had a concussion and now I suffer from short-term memory loss,' McNeil said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office told DailyMail.com that it is investigating the incident.
'We are aware of a video circulating on social media showing a traffic stop represented to be from February 19, 2025,' Sheriff T.K. Waters said.
'We have launched an internal investigation into it and the circumstances surrounding this incident. We hold our officers to the highest standards and are committed to thoroughly determining exactly what occurred.'
McNeil hired civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and Ben Crump to represent him as he seeks justice from the incident.
'I am absolutely disgusted by the actions of these officers, but, unfortunately, I'm not surprised,' said Daniels.
'The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has a long history of this kind of needless violence and brutality.'
'It should be obvious to anyone watching this video that William McNeil wasn't a threat to anyone,' said Crump. 'He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights and they beat him for it.'
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