A video from a traffic stop in Jacksonville, Florida, has gone viral on social media. William McNeil Jr., 22, posted the video he recorded when he was pulled over on February 19, 2025. A simple interaction quickly escalated into a violent one. One of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officers is seen smashing the driver’s side window and hitting McNeil in the face before dragging him out of the vehicle.

McNeil posted the video on Sunday, which shows the events that occurred during his stop. An officer approaches the vehicle; informs McNeil he was pulled over because his headlights were off. McNeil explained that several other cars did not have their lights on and requested a supervisor. The officer then shattered his window, assaulted him, forced him out of the car, and arrested him. 

Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Responds

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded Monday to the viral arrest video. Sheriff T.K. Waters held a news conference and explained that, after being made aware of the video, both a criminal and administrative review of the officers’ actions were opened. Administrative reviews are ongoing, and Officer D. Bowers consented to the release of his body camera footage.

Waters stated, “In this case, the cell phone camera footage that began viral circulation over the weekend does not comprehensively capture the circumstances surrounding the incident. And that is to be expected. Part of that stems from the distance and perspective of the recording cell phone camera.  Another part of it stems from the fact that the cell phone camera did not capture the events that preceded Officer Bowers’ decision to arrest McNeil.  Moreover, 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.”

Waters also stated that amid the internal investigation, Bowers has been stripped of duty. However, he did not comment on his actions. He said, “The law is clear: a person must comply with an officer’s commands, even if that person disagrees with that officer’s reasons for the stop.” He added they were unaware of any wrongdoing since McNeil did not file a complaint.

Arrest Report

CBS News obtained the arrest report from McNeil’s attorneys, which revealed important information about the case. According to the report, Officer Bowers claimed McNeil was not wearing his seatbelt when he was pulled over. Bowers called for backup after he asked several times for McNeil’s driver’s license and registration but was refused. 

“The suspect continued to refuse to comply, at which time I broke the driver’s window and opened the driver’s door. I, along with other officers on scene, removed the suspect from the vehicle,” Bowers said in the arrest report. “The suspect was reaching for the floorboard of the vehicle where a large knife was sitting.”

In Officer Bowers’ body camera footage, it showed McNeil opening his door instead of rolling down the window because it did not work. He was asked for identification once before being told to get out of the vehicle. McNeil questioned why he was pulled over and refused to get out of the car by shutting his door. He asked for a supervisor, and Bowers called for other responding officers instead.

A Matter of Civil Rights 

McNeil was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. In addition, he was charged with resisting an officer without violence, which he pleaded guilty to and was convicted of. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, McNeil’s representative, described the incident as “a disturbing reminder” that Black Americans can face violence simply for demanding basic rights. McNeil suffered from a chipped tooth, several stitches in his lip, a concussion, and short-term memory loss due to the actions of the arresting officers.

Crump explained that the viral video does not match the officers’ statement of events. He stated that McNeil was wearing his seatbelt in the video and was not combative with the arresting officer, nor did he reach for anything. Crump also noted the arrest report failed to mention that the officer struck McNeil’s head.

After going through the report, he stated, “The narrative in this report isn’t just suspicious. It is completely divorced from reality. Not only is he clearly wearing his seatbelt in the video, he never reaches for anything.” His statement continued, “In fact, the only time he moves at all is when the officer knocks him over by punching him in his face. Then this young man calmly sits back straight and holds his empty hands up.”