A Florida man has hired top civil rights lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels after Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies appeared to smash his window and pummel him during a traffic stop earlier this year that the plaintiff caught in a now viral dashcam video.
On Sunday the attorneys released video of the incident, which racked up more than two million views on social media.
Will McNeil Jr. has no criminal history in Jacksonville. He says the injuries inflicted by law enforcement during the stop included a chipped tooth, a cut requiring nine stitches and a concussion that caused short-term memory loss. The Duval County Sheriff’s office says it is investigating the officers’ conduct.
“We are aware of a video circulating on social media showing a traffic stop represented to be from February 19, 2025,” Duval County Sheriff T.K. Waters said in a statement. “We hold our officers to the highest standards and are committed to thoroughly determining exactly what occurred.”
Civil rights organizations also demanded an investigation, according to local news site Jax Today. William McNeil Jr., who is Black, was pulled over in February at about 4:15 p.m. for not having his lights on in inclement weather, though he claims it was daytime and there was no precipitation during the time of the stop.
The video released Sunday showed him in the driver’s seat, talking to someone out of frame on the passenger side. Another officer hovered next to the driver’s side window.
The video opened with the driver, who is not identified, telling the offscreen officer that there was plenty of light and that numerous other drivers weren’t using their headlights either.
“It doesn’t matter, you’re still required to have headlights on,” the officer said, and the driver asked him to “pull that law up.”
“Yeah, when you step out of the car, I will,” the officer said.
The driver asked for a supervisor, and the offscreen officer could be heard saying, “Alright, go for it.”
The officer on the driver’s side appears to smash the window, punch McNeil in the head and yell, “Exit the vehicle now!”
The driver showed his hands upon request, but the officers yanked him out, punched him in the head, and told him to “stop fighting” and get on the ground as they forced him down and out of the frame, yelling, “stop resisting” and, “What’s wrong with you?”
The police report does not mention using force and contends that McNeil reached for a knife, according to Jax Today. The report also noted that McNeil was not wearing a seatbelt, while in the video, an officer can be seen unbuckling McNeil’s seatbelt before pulling him from the car.
