Florida officer who broke car window, punched 22-year-old black man suspended: ‘Disturbing reminder of racial violence'
However, the sheriff's office said that a state prosecutor had found no misconduct by the officers, but an internal review is underway.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the 22-year-old man, William McNeil Jr, said the incident was "a disturbing reminder" of historical racial violence by police against black Americans.
In the viral Instagram video posted by McNeil, the police officer can be seen smashing the window of his car. The officers then punched him in the face, pulled him out of the car and pinned him to the ground.
McNeil said his tooth was chipped and he required stitches to his mouth after the arrest, and suffered a concussion. 'This was very hard to do. I'm not mentally healed from this, but I had to get the word out eventually,' he wrote in the caption.
Soon after, another clip, a police bodycam footage, began circulating online. In this video, McNeil can be seen refusing the officer's demands to exit the vehicle after being told he has been pulled over for traffic violations.
The incident is reportedly from 19 February 2025 in Jacksonville.
In a news conference on Monday, Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters said that one of the officers involved in the incident, D Bowers, had been stripped of law-enforcement duties until a review determines whether he violated any of the sheriff's office policies was completed.
However, he added, 'State Attorney's Office has determined that none of the involved officers violated criminal law, even though the administrative review has yet to be completed.'
Sheriff Waters also noted that a person is obligated to comply with an officer's commands, 'even if that person disagrees with that officer's reasons for the stop.'
In the viral video, the officer can be seen telling McNeil that he has been pulled over for not wearing his seatbelt or having his headlights on in inclement weather, to which the 22-year-old calmly replied, 'It's daylight, I don't need the lights.'
But McNeil refused to leave the vehicle and asked to speak to the officer's supervisor before locking the doors.
After warning him to get out of the car for about three minutes, the officer told his colleague he was going to break the window. Another officer responded, 'All right, go for it.'
In his arrest report, the policeman wrote that he called for backup after McNeil refused requests to show his driver's license, registration and proof of insurance.
'The suspect was reaching for the floor board of the vehicle where a large knife was sitting,' Officer Bowers wrote.
However, in the viral video, McNeil's hands are up and visible as police unlock his seatbelt to drag him from the car.
It is unclear if his seatbelt was fastened at the time police pulled him over.
William McNeil Jr had pleaded guilty to resisting a police officer without violence and driving on a suspended driver's licence. He was sentenced to two days in jail.
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