
WATCH: Florida officers punch, drag a Black man from his car during traffic stop
The footage shows William McNeil Jr, 22, recording the video as he sat in the driver's seat asking to speak to Jacksonville deputies' supervisor after deputies pulled him over. He's heard asking questions about why he was stopped when the authorities broke the glass of the window, punched him in the face and pulled him from the car and again punched him before pitting him to the ground.
New video has emerged as authorities in Jacksonville, Florida, say they are investigating a viral video showing deputies punching and beating William Anthony McNeil, Jr.,a 22-year-old Black man, during a traffic stop. https://t.co/mLFEyzBVeq pic.twitter.com/j3Kw9AYZRd
— ABC News (@ABC) July 22, 2025
Local media in the US reported about the video on Monday and Tuesday after McNeil posted the footage on social media. However, Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters warned the public against 'rushing to a judgement' as he said that there's more to the story than the mobile phone video recorded by McNeil that went viral online. Waters said sheriffs asked McNeil several times to come out of his car.
Jacksonville police say officers did not violate criminal law during the violent traffic stop of William McNeil Jr. — despite disturbing footage showing him punched and dragged. An internal investigation is underway to determine if the officers violated department policy.
🎥:… pic.twitter.com/GIvUYLGCY1
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) July 22, 2025
Civil rights group Black Lives Matter and McNeil's lawyers have said that the video suggests police brutality. 'This should not have happened. But the police have never treated Black people like human beings,' Black Lives Matter said on X.
The State Attorney's Office in Florida said that none of the deputies violated criminal law as Sheriff Waters told reporters that a review of the incident was ongoing. Informing about action taken against deputies, Waters said D. Bowers, the officer who broke the car window and punched McNeil, has been stripped of his law enforcement authority till the outcome of the review.
McNeil was arrested on February 19 and charged with resisting arrest, marijuana possession, driving with a suspended license, not wearing a seatbelt and not having headlights in bad weather, court records cited by ABC News showed.
(with inputs from Reuters, AP)

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Indian Express
6 hours ago
- New Indian Express
'I was just scared': Black student punched, dragged by Florida deputies draws civil rights outcry
FLORIDA: A Black college student shown on video being punched and dragged from his car by Florida law officers during a traffic stop faces a long recovery from injuries that include a concussion and a lip punctured by one of his teeth, his lawyers said Wednesday. At a news conference in Jacksonville, 22-year-old William McNeil Jr. spoke softly as he made a few brief comments with his family and civil rights attorneys by his side. 'That day I just really wanted to know why I was getting pulled over and why I needed to step out of the car," he said. "I knew I didn't do nothing wrong. I was really just scared.' McNeil is a biology major who played in the marching band at Livingstone College, a historically Black Christian college in Salisbury, North Carolina, Livingstone President Anthony Davis said. An arrest video captures the motorist being punched Footage of the violent arrest has sparked nationwide outrage, with civil rights lawyers accusing authorities of fabricating their arrest report. The video shows McNeil was sitting in the driver's seat, asking to speak to the Jacksonville officers' supervisor, when they broke his window, punched him in the face, pulled him from the vehicle, punched him again, and threw him to the ground. He was then knocked to the ground by an officer who delivered six closed-fist punches to the hamstring of his right thigh, police reports show. Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday defended law enforcement officers and implied the video was posted to advance a 'narrative' and generate attention on social media. 'That's what happens in so many of these things," DeSantis said. "There's a rush to judgment. There's a, there's a desire to try to get views and clicks by creating division.'


Time of India
11 hours ago
- Time of India
On cam: Florida cops punch Black man in face, smash car window, drag him out; viral video sparks outrage
A video showing Florida deputies punching and dragging a Black man from his car during a traffic stop has sparked nationwide outrage. The footage showed a Jacksonville officer punching 22-year-old William McNeil Jr. during a traffic stop. However, as per the police, William McNeil Jr. was pulled over for a seatbelt and headlight violation. Show more Show less


India.com
12 hours ago
- India.com
MLA Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy: కేబినెట్ పదవి చిచ్చు.. రాజ్గోపాల్ రెడ్డి ప్లాన్ ఏంటి..?
LOS ANGELES (TNND) — The man accused of intentionally driving through a crowd outside a nightclub in Los Angeles has been charged with 37 counts of attempted murder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Further charges for Fernando Ramirez, 29, include 37 counts of assault with a deadly weapon, totaling 74 felony counts. If convicted, he could face multiple sentences of life in prison. Ramirez allegedly drove his Nissan Versa into the crowd waiting to go inside Vermont Hollywood Nightclub on Saturday, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) reported. Among the victims, the district attorney's office said eight suffered "great bodily injury," including serious fractures and lacerations to broken bones. 'The defendant's brazen and destructive actions, as alleged in the criminal complaint, have caused unimaginable harm to dozens of innocent people,' District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said. 'This is a heinous act that left dozens injured, and while the allegations will be tested in court, the impact on the victims is undeniable. Our thoughts are with them and their loved ones as they begin the long road to recovery. We are committed to pursuing justice with care and compassion for those impacted.' He was taken into custody after his vehicle collided with several food carts, which became lodged underneath, and he was pulled from the car by bystanders and assaulted, according to the LAPD. Police are searching for a suspect who allegedly shot Ramirez in the lower back after the crash and fled the scene. The shooting suspect is described as a Hispanic male, between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 7 inches, weighing between 150 and 170 pounds. He was last seen wearing a blue Dodgers jacket, a light blue jersey with the number "5," and blue jeans. He also has gauges in both ears and a goatee. Anyone with information on the suspect's whereabouts is asked to call the LAPD Rampart CAPS Det. Audelo at 213-484-3451. Ramirez is currently being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday. Records show Ramirez has a criminal history that includes a battery and gang-related charge in 2014, an aggravated battery conviction for a 2019 attack on a Black man at a Whole Foods grocery store in Laguna Beach, California, and a domestic violence charge in 2021. A 2024 drunken driving case and 2022 domestic violence charge were pending at the time of the nightclub crash. _____ Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.