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CTV News
2 hours ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Black student dragged from his car and punched by Florida officers says he was scared and confused
William McNeil Jr., centre, listens as his attorney Ben Crump, right, speaks during a news conference in Jacksonville, Fla., Wednesday, July 23, 2025. (WJAX via AP) 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 broken tooth that pierced his lip and led to several stiches, 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. The encounter with law enforcement happened in February, but the arrest didn't capture much attention until the video from McNeil's car-mounted camera went viral over the weekend. That's when the sheriff said he became aware of it and opened an internal investigation, which is ongoing. The sheriff said a separate probe by the State Attorney's Office cleared the officers of any criminal wrongdoing — a finding fiercely criticized by McNeil's lawyers. Video from inside the car captures him being punched Footage of the violent arrest has sparked nationwide outrage, with civil rights lawyers accusing authorities of fabricating their arrest report. The video filmed by McNeil's camera shows him 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, and then punched him again. 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.' DeSantis says he hasn't seen the video, but backs law enforcement DeSantis said he hasn't reviewed the viral video but has 'every confidence' in Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, who has urged the public not to cast judgement based on the footage alone. 'If people get out of line, he's going to hold them accountable,' DeSantis said. Body camera footage of the encounter shows McNeil had been repeatedly told to exit the vehicle. And, though he earlier had his car door open while talking with an officer, he later closed it and appeared to keep it locked for about three minutes before the officers 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. On Wednesday, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump said his client had every right to ask why he was being pulled over and to ask for a supervisor. Sheriff: Officers have been cleared of committing any crimes The State Attorney's Office determined that the officers did not violate any criminal laws, the sheriff said. No one from the State Attorney's Office ever interviewed McNeil, said Crump. Daniels called their investigation 'a whitewashing.' 'But for that video, we would not be here,' Daniels said. 'And we thank God Mr. McNeil had the courage to record.' Asked about the criticism of the State Attorney's review, a spokesman for the office said Wednesday that 'a memo to McNeil's file will be finalized in the coming days that will serve as our comment.' Shortly after his arrest, McNeil pleaded guilty to charges of resisting an officer without violence and driving with a suspended license, Waters said. Civil rights attorneys call for accountability 'America, we're better than this, we're at a crossroads,' Crump said. 'We are a Democracy, we believe in the Constitution. We are not a police state where the police can do anything they want to citizens without any accountability.' Crump said his client remained calm while the officers who are trained to deescalate tense situations were the ones escalating violence. He said the case harkened back to the Civil Rights movement, when Black people were often attacked when they tried to assert their rights. 'What he exhibited was a 21st century Rosa Parks moment where an African American had the audacity to say 'I deserve equal justice under the law. I deserve to be treated like a human being with all the respect that a human being is entitled to.'' The sheriff has pushed back on some of the claims by Crump and lawyer Harry Daniels, saying 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.' Many of the speakers at Wednesday's news conference said they hope the Florida case results in accountability so that what happened to McNeil doesn't happen to others. 'It's incumbent upon everyone to understand that this could have been us, this could have been me, this could have been you,' civil rights lawyer Gerald Griggs said. —- Jeff Martin, The Associated Press Associated Press writer Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed.
New York Times
5 hours ago
- New York Times
Inquiry Is Opened After Jacksonville Officer Punches Man Through His Car Window
A Black man whose car window was broken by a police officer and was then punched, dragged out of his car and thrown to the ground during a traffic stop in February said on Wednesday that he was 'really just scared' during the arrest, which the authorities said this week they were investigating. The man, William Anthony McNeil Jr., said at a news conference that he 'wanted to know why I needed to step out of the car' when he hadn't done anything wrong. His lawyer, Ben Crump, called for the officers involved to be forced out. 'Look at that video with your own eyes,' he said. 'Listen with your own ears. We have audio/visual evidence, proof of what happened.' The sheriff's office in Jacksonville, Fla., said on Monday said that it had opened an investigation into the episode. Body camera footage taken on Feb. 19 showed a white officer telling Mr. McNeil, 22, that he had been pulled over because his headlights were off during 'inclement' weather and because he was not wearing a seatbelt. Mr. McNeil questioned why his headlights needed to be on when it was not raining. He asked to speak with supervisors about why he was stopped and then closed his car door. An officer then smashed the driver's side window and struck Mr. McNeil in the face. Other officers pulled him out of the car and threw him on the ground. 'I was really just scared,' Mr. McNeil, a student at Livingstone College in North Carolina, said at the news conference on Wednesday. Cellphone footage taken by Mr. McNeil, which appeared to start a few minutes into their encounter, was circulated widely over the weekend on social media. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
CNN
17 hours ago
- CNN
Florida police under fire as video of Black man punched, dragged by deputies during traffic stop goes viral
A cell phone video showing a white Jacksonville, Florida, police officer striking a Black man in the face during a February traffic stop before he's dragged from his car has gone viral, sparked outrage and led to conflicting accounts of the incident from civil rights lawyers and law enforcement. William McNeil Jr.'s lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels say the video, which McNeil took from inside his car, is a clear depiction of brutality, coming as law enforcement officials – from masked ICE agents to local police officers – have been scrutinized for their use of force, particularly against people of color. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office argued the viral video doesn't show the full context of the situation. 'Yes, there absolutely was force used by the arresting officers, and yes, that force is ugly,' Sheriff TK Waters said Monday at a news conference. 'Just because force is ugly does not mean it's unlawful or contrary to policy.' He said he wouldn't stay silent while 'facts and information are buried to advance an anti-police agenda.' Here's what we know: New police bodycam video released Monday shows McNeil, 22, opening his car door to speak to an officer, who tells him he was pulled over for driving without his headlights or seatbelt on. 'It's daylight, I don't need the lights. And it's not weather – it's not raining,' McNeil says in the video. McNeil asked the officer to call his supervisor, refused to give him his license, and closed his door. He locked it as the officer asked him to step out of the vehicle, bodycam video shows. 'Open the door and exit, or we are going to break the window,' the officer says as another patrol car pulls up in front of McNeil's vehicle. McNeil was warned seven times that he was under arrest and needed to open his door, Waters said. The video from inside McNeil's car begins with him sitting in the driver's seat, talking to another officer through the passenger side window. He asks the officer to show him the law stating that he must have his headlights on. One officer then says he's going ahead with breaking the window, according to body camera footage. 'All right, go for it,' a second police officer is heard saying. Seconds later, the driver's window is smashed in, McNeil is punched in the face, and officers open the door and pull him to the ground next to his car, striking his face again, McNeil's video shows. McNeil's lawyers say he sustained a tooth fracture, concussion and a traumatic brain injury. He also had cognitive impairment and short-term memory deficits after the traffic stop, they added. The body camera footage released Monday didn't show the initial strike between the arresting officer and McNeil, Waters admitted. McNeil was arrested following the incident on February 19 and charged with resisting a police officer without violence, driving on a suspended license and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, Waters said. The next day, he pleaded guilty to the resisting and suspended license charges. D. Bowers, the arresting officer who pulled McNeil over, made no mention of McNeil being punched in his police report. He wrote that the suspect, McNeil, refused to comply, which led him to break the window to open the driver's door. 'Physical force was applied to the suspect and he was taken to the ground,' Bowers continued. A second officer, however, described in a separate report six punches to McNeil's leg before he stopped resisting, according to the Associated Press. 'He simply asks for a supervisor and then they break his window and beat him yet, somehow, the report failed to mention that,' McNeil's lawyers said in a statement. Bowers' report also claimed McNeil was 'reaching for the floorboard of the vehicle where a large knife was sitting,' as he was removed from the car. Deputies found a knife while they searched McNeil's vehicle after taking him into custody, according to police reports. Crump and Daniels said Bowers' report that McNeil reached toward the knife was a 'fabrication,' according to the AP. 'The only time he moves at all is when the officer knocks him over by punching him in his face,' they said. 'Then this young man calmly sits back straight and holds his empty hands up.' When asked Monday about what he saw in the footage, Waters, the sheriff, said he couldn't see where McNeil's hands were. Waters said McNeil hadn't filed a complaint or shared his video with the department before it was released on social media. Had he done so, he said, the department would have started an investigation. The sheriff said the cell phone footage showed there were aspects of the arrest the department needed to investigate, but said he assumed the video was 'intended to inflame the public.' 'The context of this video should tell you everything you need to know,' he said. A criminal investigation at the sheriff's office began Sunday, as soon as it became aware of the viral footage, Waters said, adding the State Attorney's Office determined Monday no officers involved in the arrest violated any criminal laws. An administrative review over whether the deputies violated department policies is also ongoing, Waters said. The arresting officer has been 'stripped of his law enforcement authority' pending the outcome of the administrative review, according to the sheriff. McNeil's attorney Daniels said he was disgusted but not surprised by the actions of the officers. 'The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has a long history of this kind of needless violence and brutality,' Daniels said in a press release. 'It should be obvious to anyone watching this video that William McNeil wasn't a threat to anyone,' Crump added. 'He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights, and they beat him for it.' CNN's Jillian Sykes, Isabel Rosales, Meridith Edwards, Devon Sayers, and Jason Morris contributed to this report.
CNN
19 hours ago
- CNN
Florida police under fire as video of Black man punched, dragged by deputies during traffic stop goes viral
A cell phone video showing a white Jacksonville, Florida, police officer striking a Black man in the face during a February traffic stop before he's dragged from his car has gone viral, sparked outrage and led to conflicting accounts of the incident from civil rights lawyers and law enforcement. William McNeil Jr.'s lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels say the video, which McNeil took from inside his car, is a clear depiction of brutality, coming as law enforcement officials – from masked ICE agents to local police officers – have been scrutinized for their use of force, particularly against people of color. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office argued the viral video doesn't show the full context of the situation. 'Yes, there absolutely was force used by the arresting officers, and yes, that force is ugly,' Sheriff TK Waters said Monday at a news conference. 'Just because force is ugly does not mean it's unlawful or contrary to policy.' He said he wouldn't stay silent while 'facts and information are buried to advance an anti-police agenda.' Here's what we know: New police bodycam video released Monday shows McNeil, 22, opening his car door to speak to an officer, who tells him he was pulled over for driving without his headlights or seatbelt on. 'It's daylight, I don't need the lights. And it's not weather – it's not raining,' McNeil says in the video. McNeil asked the officer to call his supervisor, refused to give him his license, and closed his door. He locked it as the officer asked him to step out of the vehicle, bodycam video shows. 'Open the door and exit, or we are going to break the window,' the officer says as another patrol car pulls up in front of McNeil's vehicle. McNeil was warned seven times that he was under arrest and needed to open his door, Waters said. The video from inside McNeil's car begins with him sitting in the driver's seat, talking to another officer through the passenger side window. He asks the officer to show him the law stating that he must have his headlights on. One officer then says he's going ahead with breaking the window, according to body camera footage. 'All right, go for it,' a second police officer is heard saying. Seconds later, the driver's window is smashed in, McNeil is punched in the face, and officers open the door and pull him to the ground next to his car, striking his face again, McNeil's video shows. McNeil's lawyers say he sustained a tooth fracture, concussion and a traumatic brain injury. He also had cognitive impairment and short-term memory deficits after the traffic stop, they added. The body camera footage released Monday didn't show the initial strike between the arresting officer and McNeil, Waters admitted. McNeil was arrested following the incident on February 19 and charged with resisting a police officer without violence, driving on a suspended license and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, Waters said. The next day, he pleaded guilty to the resisting and suspended license charges. D. Bowers, the arresting officer who pulled McNeil over, made no mention of McNeil being punched in his police report. He wrote that the suspect, McNeil, refused to comply, which led him to break the window to open the driver's door. 'Physical force was applied to the suspect and he was taken to the ground,' Bowers continued. A second officer, however, described in a separate report six punches to McNeil's leg before he stopped resisting, according to the Associated Press. 'He simply asks for a supervisor and then they break his window and beat him yet, somehow, the report failed to mention that,' McNeil's lawyers said in a statement. Bowers' report also claimed McNeil was 'reaching for the floorboard of the vehicle where a large knife was sitting,' as he was removed from the car. Deputies found a knife while they searched McNeil's vehicle after taking him into custody, according to police reports. Crump and Daniels said Bowers' report that McNeil reached toward the knife was a 'fabrication,' according to the AP. 'The only time he moves at all is when the officer knocks him over by punching him in his face,' they said. 'Then this young man calmly sits back straight and holds his empty hands up.' When asked Monday about what he saw in the footage, Waters, the sheriff, said he couldn't see where McNeil's hands were. Waters said McNeil hadn't filed a complaint or shared his video with the department before it was released on social media. Had he done so, he said, the department would have started an investigation. The sheriff said the cell phone footage showed there were aspects of the arrest the department needed to investigate, but said he assumed the video was 'intended to inflame the public.' 'The context of this video should tell you everything you need to know,' he said. A criminal investigation at the sheriff's office began Sunday, as soon as it became aware of the viral footage, Waters said, adding the State Attorney's Office determined Monday no officers involved in the arrest violated any criminal laws. An administrative review over whether the deputies violated department policies is also ongoing, Waters said. The arresting officer has been 'stripped of his law enforcement authority' pending the outcome of the administrative review, according to the sheriff. McNeil's attorney Daniels said he was disgusted but not surprised by the actions of the officers. 'The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has a long history of this kind of needless violence and brutality,' Daniels said in a press release. 'It should be obvious to anyone watching this video that William McNeil wasn't a threat to anyone,' Crump added. 'He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights, and they beat him for it.' CNN's Jillian Sykes, Isabel Rosales, Meridith Edwards, Devon Sayers, and Jason Morris contributed to this report.
CNN
20 hours ago
- CNN
Florida police under fire as video of Black man punched, dragged by deputies during traffic stop goes viral
A cell phone video showing a white Jacksonville, Florida, police officer striking a Black man in the face during a February traffic stop before he's dragged from his car has gone viral, sparked outrage and led to conflicting accounts of the incident from civil rights lawyers and law enforcement. William McNeil Jr.'s lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels say the video, which McNeil took from inside his car, is a clear depiction of brutality, coming as law enforcement officials – from masked ICE agents to local police officers – have been scrutinized for their use of force, particularly against people of color. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office argued the viral video doesn't show the full context of the situation. 'Yes, there absolutely was force used by the arresting officers, and yes, that force is ugly,' Sheriff TK Waters said Monday at a news conference. 'Just because force is ugly does not mean it's unlawful or contrary to policy.' He said he wouldn't stay silent while 'facts and information are buried to advance an anti-police agenda.' Here's what we know: New police bodycam video released Monday shows McNeil, 22, opening his car door to speak to an officer, who tells him he was pulled over for driving without his headlights or seatbelt on. 'It's daylight, I don't need the lights. And it's not weather – it's not raining,' McNeil says in the video. McNeil asked the officer to call his supervisor, refused to give him his license, and closed his door. He locked it as the officer asked him to step out of the vehicle, bodycam video shows. 'Open the door and exit, or we are going to break the window,' the officer says as another patrol car pulls up in front of McNeil's vehicle. McNeil was warned seven times that he was under arrest and needed to open his door, Waters said. The video from inside McNeil's car begins with him sitting in the driver's seat, talking to another officer through the passenger side window. He asks the officer to show him the law stating that he must have his headlights on. One officer then says he's going ahead with breaking the window, according to body camera footage. 'All right, go for it,' a second police officer is heard saying. Seconds later, the driver's window is smashed in, McNeil is punched in the face, and officers open the door and pull him to the ground next to his car, striking his face again, McNeil's video shows. McNeil's lawyers say he sustained a tooth fracture, concussion and a traumatic brain injury. He also had cognitive impairment and short-term memory deficits after the traffic stop, they added. The body camera footage released Monday didn't show the initial strike between the arresting officer and McNeil, Waters admitted. McNeil was arrested following the incident on February 19 and charged with resisting a police officer without violence, driving on a suspended license and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, Waters said. The next day, he pleaded guilty to the resisting and suspended license charges. D. Bowers, the arresting officer who pulled McNeil over, made no mention of McNeil being punched in his police report. He wrote that the suspect, McNeil, refused to comply, which led him to break the window to open the driver's door. 'Physical force was applied to the suspect and he was taken to the ground,' Bowers continued. A second officer, however, described in a separate report six punches to McNeil's leg before he stopped resisting, according to the Associated Press. 'He simply asks for a supervisor and then they break his window and beat him yet, somehow, the report failed to mention that,' McNeil's lawyers said in a statement. Bowers' report also claimed McNeil was 'reaching for the floorboard of the vehicle where a large knife was sitting,' as he was removed from the car. Deputies found a knife while they searched McNeil's vehicle after taking him into custody, according to police reports. Crump and Daniels said Bowers' report that McNeil reached toward the knife was a 'fabrication,' according to the AP. 'The only time he moves at all is when the officer knocks him over by punching him in his face,' they said. 'Then this young man calmly sits back straight and holds his empty hands up.' When asked Monday about what he saw in the footage, Waters, the sheriff, said he couldn't see where McNeil's hands were. Waters said McNeil hadn't filed a complaint or shared his video with the department before it was released on social media. Had he done so, he said, the department would have started an investigation. The sheriff said the cell phone footage showed there were aspects of the arrest the department needed to investigate, but said he assumed the video was 'intended to inflame the public.' 'The context of this video should tell you everything you need to know,' he said. A criminal investigation at the sheriff's office began Sunday, as soon as it became aware of the viral footage, Waters said, adding the State Attorney's Office determined Monday no officers involved in the arrest violated any criminal laws. An administrative review over whether the deputies violated department policies is also ongoing, Waters said. The arresting officer has been 'stripped of his law enforcement authority' pending the outcome of the administrative review, according to the sheriff. McNeil's attorney Daniels said he was disgusted but not surprised by the actions of the officers. 'The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has a long history of this kind of needless violence and brutality,' Daniels said in a press release. 'It should be obvious to anyone watching this video that William McNeil wasn't a threat to anyone,' Crump added. 'He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights, and they beat him for it.' CNN's Jillian Sykes, Isabel Rosales, Meridith Edwards, Devon Sayers, and Jason Morris contributed to this report.
