New stats: Black drivers disproportionately ticketed by JSO for having headlights off in bad weather
That arrest sparked outrage after cell phone video of McNeil being struck by an officer during the February traffic stop went viral.
Attorneys representing McNeil have repeatedly argued racial bias played a role in his traffic stop.
'This is about driving while Black,' said McNeil's attorney Ben Crump during a press conference last week.
The official reason given for the stop was driving without a seatbelt and driving without headlights on in inclement weather, though McNeil's attorneys have pointed out it didn't appear to be raining at the time of the stop.
Now, data reviewed by Action News Jax from the Duval Clerk of Courts shows at least one of those citations has been used disproportionately to ticket Black drivers.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Since 2021, of the 79 citations written by JSO for driving without headlights in inclement weather, 64.5 percent were issued to Black drivers.
Black drivers made up just 37.5 percent of the eight citations issued by other police agencies in the county during that same timeframe.
Meanwhile, Black residents account for just about 30 percent of the county's overall population.
'Obviously, it would be very powerful for a jury to hear that there was very systemic profiling that was going on,' said local defense attorney Chris Carson.
Carson noted those numbers could come into play during a potential lawsuit against JSO.
But he cautioned against jumping to conclusions or interpreting the data as concrete evidence of systemic racial bias at the agency.
'You just kind of have to be careful when you're dealing with very small sample sizes because those don't always totally reflect what's going on there. I mean, it may suggest it, but as far as the big picture goes, it may not be totally accurate,' said Carson.
JSO has repeatedly highlighted the tens of thousands of traffic stops conducted by the agency each year that go without incident.
Sheriff T.K. Waters has also pointed the finger at McNeil for escalating the situation by refusing to get out of the car when told to do so by officers.
Sheriff Waters recently rejected any suggestion the agency targets Black residents during his press conference last Monday.
'I wouldn't work here if we're after Black men or Black people period,' said Waters.
Along with the citations for driving without headlights on in inclement weather, Action News Jax also obtained a list of more than 20,500 citations for seatbelt violations.
We'll also be digging through that data to try an identify any racial trends in traffic stops and tickets.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Nurse imposter arrested after treating over 4,000 patients without a license: Sheriff
A woman in Florida was arrested after posing as a nurse and treating over 4,000 patients without a license, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. Autumn Bardisa, 29, was arrested on Tuesday after pretending to be a registered nurse and treating 4,486 individuals at a local hospital from July 2023 until she was fired on Jan. 22, the sheriff's office announced in a press release on Wednesday. "This is one of the most disturbing cases of medical fraud we've ever investigated," Sheriff Rick Staly said in a statement on Wednesday. Back in July 2023, Bardisa was hired as an advanced nurse technician, working under the supervision of a registered nurse, officials said. When she applied for the position, she stated she was an "education first" registered nurse, meaning she "passed the required schooling to become a registered nurse but had not passed the national exam to obtain her license," officials said. She then told the hospital she had passed her exams and provided a license number "matching an individual with her first name, Autumn, but with a different last name," the sheriff's office said. Bardisa explained the discrepancy, saying she "had recently gotten married and had a new last name," according to officials. The hospital requested to see her marriage license to confirm her identity, but she never provided it to them, officials said. When Bardisa was offered a promotion in January, officials said a fellow employee checked her license's status and discovered she had "an expired certified nursing assistant license" and immediately reported the findings to hospital administrators. MORE: Former Virginia nurse charged with felony child abuse amid probe into NICU babies suffering 'unexplained fractures' After the hospital investigated, they learned that Bardisa had also never provided her marriage license per their previous requests, officials said. After terminating Bardisa on Jan. 22, hospital officials contacted the sheriff's office, which then began an investigation. Officials found that the nurse Bardisa stole the license from is someone at a different hospital and had attended school with Bardisa, but the two did not "personally know one another," officials said. On Tuesday, Bardisa was arrested for seven counts of practicing a health care profession without a license and seven counts of fraudulent use of personal identification, officials said. She was transported to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where she is being held on a $70,000 bond, officials said. This incident comes after a Pennsylvania nurse was arrested in July after using 20 aliases -- including the identities and credentials of four confirmed nurses from southern states -- and seven different Social Security numbers. Another similar incident occurred back in Nov. 2024 when a 44-year-old woman impersonated a registered nurse at a hospital in Burbank, California. Jail records do not indicate Bardisa's next court appearance. It is not immediately clear whether Bardisa has an attorney who can speak on her behalf.
CNN
37 minutes ago
- CNN
GOP Rep. Cory Mills accused by ex-girlfriend of threatening to release sexually explicit images, videos of her
An ex-girlfriend of GOP Rep. Cory Mills is accusing the Florida congressman of having threatened to release sexually explicit images and videos of her after their relationship ended, according to a police report obtained by CNN. Lindsey Langston, a Florida Republican Party committee member and 2024 winner of the Miss United States beauty pageant, filed a police report on July 14 with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office in Florida. In screenshots of messages Langston said she exchanged with Mills, an account under Mills' name is repeatedly shown saying he would share with an unidentified man videos he had of her. Similar comments are made in text conversations, with a number Langston said belonged to Mills. Langston shared the exchanges with investigators, and CNN reviewed copies of the screenshots, which don't include the entire conversations. 'Let him put his actions behind his mouth. I can send him a videos of you as well. Oh, I still have them,' Mills allegedly wrote to Langston in a string of messages. In response to one exchange in which Mills allegedly said, 'Thanks again for the videos,' Langston replied: 'Haven't you hurt me enough?' and in a separate conversation, Langston wrote, 'Please leave me alone.' Mills has not been charged in connection with the allegations. In a statement shared with CNN, the congressman denied any wrongdoing. 'These claims are false and misrepresent the nature of my interactions. I have always conducted myself with integrity, both personally and in service to Florida's 7th District,' Mills said in a statement. 'Out of respect for the legal process, I won't comment further at this time. My team and I will fully cooperate to ensure the truth is made clear. I remain focused on serving my constituents and advancing America First policies.' Mills' communications director, Julie Singleton, told CNN, 'We have not been made aware of any report or allegations from law enforcement or the alleged complainant.' The public information officer for the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Steven Khachigan, told CNN that after the department's initial involvement, the matter was referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Langston began a relationship with Mills in November 2021, and the two lived together at his Florida home, according to the police report. The congressman was separated from his wife at the time, and told Langston his divorce was finalized in 2024, the report claims. Their relationship ended when, in late February, Langston confronted Mills about reports that he was under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District Columbia for an alleged assault against another woman, the report states. Mills was not charged in the incident, and he and the woman denied there had been any violence when previously reached by CNN. Langston claimed that Mills has contacted her numerous times since February, 'threatening to release nude images and videos of her, to include recorded videos of her and Cory engaging in sexual acts,' the report states. Langston's attorney, Anthony Sabatini, told CNN that her petition for a restraining order against Mills is pending before a judge and declined any comment. Sabatini had run against Mills in the 2022 GOP primary for Florida's 7th Congressional District. The allegations against Mills were first reported by Drop Site News. The publishing of sexually explicit photos or videos of a person online without their consent, known as sexual cyberharassment or revenge porn, is illegal under Florida law. This year, President Donald Trump also signed into law the Take It Down Act, which makes it illegal to share online nonconsensual, explicit images.
CNN
38 minutes ago
- CNN
GOP Rep. Cory Mills accused by ex-girlfriend of threatening to release sexually explicit images, videos of her
An ex-girlfriend of GOP Rep. Cory Mills is accusing the Florida congressman of having threatened to release sexually explicit images and videos of her after their relationship ended, according to a police report obtained by CNN. Lindsey Langston, a Florida Republican Party committee member and 2024 winner of the Miss United States beauty pageant, filed a police report on July 14 with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office in Florida. In screenshots of messages Langston said she exchanged with Mills, an account under Mills' name is repeatedly shown saying he would share with an unidentified man videos he had of her. Similar comments are made in text conversations, with a number Langston said belonged to Mills. Langston shared the exchanges with investigators, and CNN reviewed copies of the screenshots, which don't include the entire conversations. 'Let him put his actions behind his mouth. I can send him a videos of you as well. Oh, I still have them,' Mills allegedly wrote to Langston in a string of messages. In response to one exchange in which Mills allegedly said, 'Thanks again for the videos,' Langston replied: 'Haven't you hurt me enough?' and in a separate conversation, Langston wrote, 'Please leave me alone.' Mills has not been charged in connection with the allegations. In a statement shared with CNN, the congressman denied any wrongdoing. 'These claims are false and misrepresent the nature of my interactions. I have always conducted myself with integrity, both personally and in service to Florida's 7th District,' Mills said in a statement. 'Out of respect for the legal process, I won't comment further at this time. My team and I will fully cooperate to ensure the truth is made clear. I remain focused on serving my constituents and advancing America First policies.' Mills' communications director, Julie Singleton, told CNN, 'We have not been made aware of any report or allegations from law enforcement or the alleged complainant.' The public information officer for the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Steven Khachigan, told CNN that after the department's initial involvement, the matter was referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Langston began a relationship with Mills in November 2021, and the two lived together at his Florida home, according to the police report. The congressman was separated from his wife at the time, and told Langston his divorce was finalized in 2024, the report claims. Their relationship ended when, in late February, Langston confronted Mills about reports that he was under investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District Columbia for an alleged assault against another woman, the report states. Mills was not charged in the incident, and he and the woman denied there had been any violence when previously reached by CNN. Langston claimed that Mills has contacted her numerous times since February, 'threatening to release nude images and videos of her, to include recorded videos of her and Cory engaging in sexual acts,' the report states. Langston's attorney, Anthony Sabatini, told CNN that her petition for a restraining order against Mills is pending before a judge and declined any comment. Sabatini had run against Mills in the 2022 GOP primary for Florida's 7th Congressional District. The allegations against Mills were first reported by Drop Site News. The publishing of sexually explicit photos or videos of a person online without their consent, known as sexual cyberharassment or revenge porn, is illegal under Florida law. This year, President Donald Trump also signed into law the Take It Down Act, which makes it illegal to share online nonconsensual, explicit images.
