Florida Student William McNeil Demands Justice After Police Assault

A routine traffic stop turned violent on February 19 when 24-year-old William McNeil, a Florida student, was pulled over by Jacksonville police officers for an alleged seat belt violation, an encounter that escalated into a brutal assault caught on camera.

Video footage from inside McNeil’s vehicle shows him calmly questioning officers while remaining seated. Moments later, the situation deteriorated: officers attempted to forcibly remove him, smashing his window and striking him repeatedly in the face and body as others restrained him outside the car.

“I just really wanted to know why I was getting pulled over and why I needed to step out of the car,” McNeil told reporters during a recent news conference. “I knew I didn’t do nothing wrong. I was really just scared.”

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has acknowledged the viral video, but maintains that the footage circulating online offers an incomplete picture of the incident. Sheriff T.K. Waters cautioned against drawing conclusions based solely on video evidence.

“Cameras can only capture what can be seen and heard,” Waters said on July 21. “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.”

Despite the public outcry, Sheriff Waters said prosecutors concluded that none of the officers involved violated criminal law.

That response has only intensified backlash. Civil rights groups, including the Jacksonville chapter of the NAACP, have demanded a full release of all body camera footage and an independent investigation.

“We need full transparency, not another closed-door investigation,” the NAACP said in a statement.

Nationally renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is now representing McNeil, condemned the incident as a case of unchecked police brutality.

“This wasn’t law enforcement, it was brutality,” Crump stated. “All video from JSO should be released to ensure there is transparency for McNeil and the community. We demand full accountability from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and justice for William McNeil Jr.”

As pressure mounts, the case is drawing national attention, becoming a flashpoint in the ongoing debate over police use of force, transparency, and the treatment of Black men during traffic stops.