A video showing Florida deputies punching and dragging a Black man from his car during a traffic stop has sparked outrage.
William McNeil Jr., 22, was sitting in the driver’s seat of his car, 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.
The footage is from a Feb. 19 arrest, but it began making the rounds on social media this week after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said it had launched an internal probe into the incident.
“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,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
“We hold our officers to the highest standards and are committed to thoroughly determining exactly what occurred.”
The video was released on July 20 by McNeil’s lawyers, Ben Crump and Harry Daniels.
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The footage from the 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 been pulled over and 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,” Crump and Daniels said in a statement. Crump is a Black civil rights lawyer 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.”
During a news briefing on Monday, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters 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.
Waters said cameras “can only capture what can be seen and heard.”
“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,” he added.
McNeil was charged with resisting a police officer without violence, driving with a suspended licence and having less than 20 grams of marijuana, Waters said. McNeil pleaded guilty to the charges of resisting an officer and driving with a suspended licence.
The sheriff claimed that McNeil was warned seven times that he needed to open his car door and get out or officers would be forced to break his car window. He said that after McNeil was removed from the car, officers found a “large, serrated knife” on the driver’s side floor of the car.
Waters added that the sheriff’s office became aware that the cellphone video was circulating on social media on July 20. At the news briefing, Waters said the agency “immediately began both a criminal and administrative review of the officers’ actions.”
“The State Attorney’s Office has determined that none of the involved officers violated criminal law,” he added.
Waters noted that an “administrative review” to determine whether officers violated any department policies is still ongoing.
“Due to the ongoing internal review, no further information will be released at this time, as it is confidential under Florida law,” Waters added.
— With files from The Associated Press
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