Latest news with #JacksonvilleSheriff
Yahoo
23-07-2025
- Yahoo
Black man punched and pulled from his car by Florida deputies on video is set to speak to public
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A Black man who was shown on video being punched and dragged from his car by Florida deputies during a traffic stop will speak to the public on Wednesday. William McNeil Jr., along with his family and attorneys, is set to host a news conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Paul Church of Jacksonville. Footage of the 22-year-old man's 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 deputies' supervisor, when authorities broke his window, punched him in the face, pulled him from the vehicle, punched him again, and threw him to the ground. But Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters says there's more to the story than the cellphone video that went viral. He warned the public about 'a rush to judgment' that could lead to faulty conclusions. McNeil's lawyers say the video clearly depicts police brutality. Body camera footage of the encounter shows McNeil had been repeatedly told to exit the vehicle. And, though McNeil earlier had his car door open while talking with authorities, he later closed and appeared to keep it locked for about three minutes before deputies forcibly removed him, the video shows. The vantage point of the body camera footage that was released makes it difficult to see the punches that were thrown. The cellphone footage from the Feb. 19 arrest shows that seconds before being dragged outside, McNeil had his hands up and did not appear to be resisting as he asked, 'What is your reason?' He had pulled over and had been accused of not having his headlights on, even though it was daytime, his lawyers said. 'What happened to William McNeil Jr. is a disturbing reminder that even the most basic rights — like asking why you've been pulled over — can be met with violence for Black Americans,' lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels said in a statement. Crump is a Black civil rights attorney who has gained national prominence representing victims of police brutality and vigilante violence. 'William was calm and compliant,' they said. 'Yet instead of answers, he got his window smashed and was punched in the face, all over a questionable claim about headlights in broad daylight.' The sheriff said the cellphone camera footage from inside the car 'does not comprehensively capture the circumstances surrounding the incident.' 'Part of that stems from the distance and perspective of the recording cell phone camera,' the sheriff said in a statement, adding that the video did not capture events that occurred before officers decided to arrest McNeil. Cameras 'can only capture what can be seen and heard,' the sheriff added. 'So much context and depth are absent from recorded footage because a camera simply cannot capture what is known to the people depicted in it.'
Associated Press
23-07-2025
- Associated Press
Black man punched and pulled from his car by Florida deputies on video is set to speak to public
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A Black man who was shown on video being punched and dragged from his car by Florida deputies during a traffic stop will speak to the public on Wednesday. William McNeil Jr., along with his family and attorneys, is set to host a news conference at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Paul Church of Jacksonville. Footage of the 22-year-old man's 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 deputies' supervisor, when authorities broke his window, punched him in the face, pulled him from the vehicle, punched him again, and threw him to the ground. But Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters says there's more to the story than the cellphone video that went viral. He warned the public about 'a rush to judgment' that could lead to faulty conclusions. McNeil's lawyers say the video clearly depicts police brutality. Body camera footage of the encounter shows McNeil had been repeatedly told to exit the vehicle. And, though McNeil earlier had his car door open while talking with authorities, he later closed and appeared to keep it locked for about three minutes before deputies forcibly removed him, the video shows. The vantage point of the body camera footage that was released makes it difficult to see the punches that were thrown. The cellphone footage from the Feb. 19 arrest shows that seconds before being dragged outside, McNeil had his hands up and did not appear to be resisting as he asked, 'What is your reason?' He had pulled over and had been accused of not having his headlights on, even though it was daytime, his lawyers said. 'What happened to William McNeil Jr. is a disturbing reminder that even the most basic rights — like asking why you've been pulled over — can be met with violence for Black Americans,' lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels said in a statement. Crump is a Black civil rights attorney who has gained national prominence representing victims of police brutality and vigilante violence. 'William was calm and compliant,' they said. 'Yet instead of answers, he got his window smashed and was punched in the face, all over a questionable claim about headlights in broad daylight.' The sheriff said the cellphone camera footage from inside the car 'does not comprehensively capture the circumstances surrounding the incident.' 'Part of that stems from the distance and perspective of the recording cell phone camera,' the sheriff said in a statement, adding that the video did not capture events that occurred before officers decided to arrest McNeil. Cameras 'can only capture what can be seen and heard,' the sheriff added. 'So much context and depth are absent from recorded footage because a camera simply cannot capture what is known to the people depicted in it.'
The Sun
21-07-2025
- The Sun
Shock moment cop smashes man's car window and punches him in the head after stopping him for ‘not having headlights on'
THIS is the shocking moment a cop smashes a man's car window before hitting him in the head after stopping him for not having his headlights on. Footage appears to capture the aggressive traffic stop by Jacksonville Sheriff's officers - and has since gone viral on social media. 5 5 5 The horror incident was posted to Instagram by @904will, who wrote in the caption that he was pulled over in February over his car's headlights - despite there being "no rain, smoke or fog". Footage shows the driver sat in his car as he questions a cop - who is out of shot - on why he was pulled over for not having his headlights on. The driver is heard saying: "There's no rain." A cop responds: "It doesn't matter - you're still required to have headlights on." The driver then asks to see the law, before the officer says they'll show it to him once he agrees to step out of the car. He then asks for "a supervisor" - but, as written in the post's caption, "things escalated quickly". The cop stood behind the driver is then captured on footage shockingly shattering the window with two hits using his fist. He then swaps hands and gives a final punch to the window, with the driver covered in glass with a shocked, scared expression. The cop is heard shouting: "Exit the vehicle now." He then proceeds to disturbingly hit the driver in the head, repeating for him to exit the vehicle. Moment riot cops smash shield into man's face and 'knock his teeth out' in clash after migrant 'sexually assaulted' girl The driver is then asked to show his hands, which he does willingly as cops then open his door and rip him out of the car. He then appears to get punched in the head by the same cop and slammed on the ground. The apparent victim in the horrific encounter said in the caption of the video that he suffered "a chipped tooth and nine plus stitches in my lips". He also said he endured "a concussion and short term memory loss" - adding how "very hard" it was on his mental health. The caption reads: "I'm not mentally healed from this but I had to get the word out eventually." Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said on Sunday that an internal investigation has been launched. The statement said in part: "We are aware of a video circulating on social media showing a traffic stop represented to be from February 19, 2025. "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". 5
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Man shot during argument over video games, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says
A man was shot during an argument over video games on Saturday night, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said. JSO said officers arrived at the 11000 block of Key Haven Drive near Interstate 295 and Dunn Avenue around 11 p.m. They found a man in his late 30s had been shot in the neck. He was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, JSO said. Investigators found that the victim and suspect were playing video games and began arguing. The suspect produced a handgun, JSO said. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The suspect was detained and JSO said 'all parties involved are detained and currently cooperating' with investigators. Anyone who has any information related to the incident is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500, go online to JSOCRIMETIPS@ or call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 866-845-TIPS. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Only On: Sheriff T.K. Waters weighs in on arrests during Jacksonville City Council meeting
Only on Action News Jax, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters weighed in on the arrest of three people during Tuesday night's City Council meeting. Video shows Jacksonville Sheriff's officers pulling protester Conor Cauley over a seat and taking him into custody during the meeting. The agency claims he refused to leave council chambers when ordered and put his hands on an officer. Two others, Leah Grady and Teagan Belloit, were also arrested and charged with resisting without violence. Cauley was charged with resisting with violence, a felony, and slapped with a misdemeanor weapons charge after JSO claimed to have found a knife on him. During his first appearance, though, a judge found no probable cause for the resisting with violence charge after reviewing video of the incident. Jacksonville mayor: Small 'credit card' knife found on 1 of 3 arrested during City Council meeting 'We had community members who were peacefully engaging and civil engaging with the public meeting who were completely, unjustly attacked and brutalized by the police,' Ryan Delaney with the Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network said. Delaney and other supports waited outside the jail all night in solidarity with the three who were arrested. He argued the arrests were politically motivated. 'This is political repression. This is the state that we live in right now. Especially people who want to speak out about Palestine. We are constantly being attacked by the state for speaking out for the human rights of Palestinian people,' Delaney said. 'We are constantly being attacked by the state for speaking out for the human rights of Palestinian people.' But Waters argued that's not the case. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] He pointed to the fact that others were removed from council chambers without incident that same night. 'You try to be as patient as you can, but in situations like that, especially when there's a lot of people around. You know, sometimes these situations, when you have one group saying no, it causes, it gets almost like it causes everyone else to start uprising a bit. To avoid that from happening, you take care of the issue,' Waters said. 'You take care of it quickly, as efficiently as possible, as safely as possible and you get out. And everyone left there without any injury.' And while supporters of the three suspects want to see all the charges they're facing dropped, Waters told Action News Jax he wants to see prosecutions move forward, to discourage others from disrupting council meetings moving forward. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] 'If you continue to signal that it's going to be a slap on the wrist, you're not going to do anything about it, all it does is make people want to continue to do those things and show that they're going to be disruptive when they want to be disruptive,' Waters said. 'And I'm sure, whoever that judge is, I don't know who it is, if that's the case they would not allow someone to act out in their courtroom.' While the judge did not find probable cause for Cauley's resisting arrest with violence charge, she set his bond at $1,503 for the weapons charge. Belloit was released without bond on her charge of resisting without violence. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
