(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — William McNeil, Jr., the 22-year-old Florida man whose violent arrest by Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies was caught in a viral video, is expected to speak out about the incident during a press conference outside the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday morning.
The sheriff’s office said on Sunday that the agency launched an investigation into the Feb. 19 incident after the 2-minute cell phone video captured by McNeil went viral. On Monday, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters also released body camera footage from two deputies who were present on the scene of the arrest.
In the video, sheriff’s deputies are seen beating and punching McNeil during the traffic stop after he repeatedly questioned why he was being pulled over and refused to exit his vehicle.
What the video shows of McNeil’s arrest
McNeil was pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy at 4:15 p.m. local time for allegedly not having his headlights on due to “inclement weather” and not wearing a seat belt, according to a police report obtained by ABC News.
Body camera video shows McNeil telling the deputy that it wasn’t raining and he didn’t need to have his headlights turned on and asked to speak with a supervisor. After McNeil locks himself in his vehicle and repeatedly refuses to exit, the deputy threatens to break his window and calls for backup, the video shows.
The body camera video and the 2-minute cell phone video both captured McNeil being punched and beaten after a deputy broke his car window.
The videos show McNeil speaking with a group of deputies and appearing to explain why he was pulled over by the first deputy who arrived on the scene.
“There’s no rain,” McNeil says in the video.
“It doesn’t matter,” a sheriff’s deputy can be heard saying as they ask him to exit his vehicle.
Harry Daniels, one of the attorneys representing McNeil, told ABC News Live anchor Kyra Phillips in the interview on Monday that his client refused to exit his vehicle because he was “afraid” of police.
“He is afraid. You know, in this environment, policing in America, especially young men of color, are very afraid of police,” Daniels said, adding that his client decided to begin recording the incident once the deputy refused to call a supervisor so he could dispute the traffic stop.
After McNeil again asks to speak with a supervisor, the videos show a deputy — who was identified by Waters on Monday as D. Bowers — breaking McNeil’s car window and punching him in the face while McNeil is facing forward. McNeil then appears to be pulled out of his car and is punched again as he is pushed down to the ground by multiple deputies and seemingly beaten.
“You’re under arrest,” officers can be heard saying as they push McNeil to the ground and hold him down.
The charges against McNeil
Court records show that McNeil was arrested and charged with “resisting arrest without violence to his or her person,” possessing not more than 20 grams of marijuana with intent to use drug paraphernalia, driving while driver’s license is suspended, not wearing a seatbelt and no headlights in rain/fog/or smoke.
Additionally, court records show that he was sentenced to and served two days in jail for resisting arrest without violence and driving with a suspended license.
“McNeil was arrested and pled guilty to resisting a police officer without violence,” Waters said. “Force absolutely looks ugly, and because all force is ugly, whether or not the officer involved acted within outside [Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office] policy, that’s still what we’re investigating.”
In the incident report filed by Bowers, the deputy does not mention that he punched McNeil while he was sitting in his car, but says that “force” was used after McNeil was removed from the vehicle.
The report filed by Bowers also claims that McNeil reached for a knife on the floor of his vehicle as officers opened the door.
The body camera video does not show McNeil reaching for a knife on the floor of his car.
The video does appear to show an object that the sheriff’s office identified as a knife on the floor of McNeil’s car that officers recovered after he was removed from the vehicle. A deputy can be heard pointing it out in the video.
A reporter pressed Waters on the claim that McNeil reached for a knife, saying, “I couldn’t see any clear indication of that in the video. Do you see that when you’re watching?””
“No, actually, I don’t see where his hands are. I can’t assume, no one can assume,” Waters said.
Daniels told Phillips on Monday that the claim that McNeil reached for a knife is a “lie,” and criticized the deputy for not disclosing that he punched McNeil in the incident report.
What’s next for McNeil and the officer
Waters announced on Monday that “the State Attorney’s Office has determined that none of the involved officers violated criminal law,” but highlighted that the deputies’ actions are now being examined in an “administrative review,” which will determine if the deputies “violated [Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office] policy.”
ABC News has reached out to the Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit serving Clay, Duval, & Nassau Counties for further comment.
“Pending the outcome of this administrative review, Officer Bowers has been stripped of his law enforcement authority,” Waters said. It is unclear if other deputies involved in the arrest have been placed on administrative leave.
“I will neither defend nor commend officer Bowers’ response to resistance until all the facts are known and the investigation is completed,” Waters said.
It is unclear if Bowers has retained an attorney. ABC News has reached out to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for further comment, but have not heard back.
On Monday, Daniels said that his client plans to take legal action.
“This officer broke his window and just punched him in his face. Mr. McNeil suffered very significant injury,” Daniels said.
“We are planning to do everything we can do to secure justice,” Daniels said when asked if the legal team plans to file a lawsuit. “We are seeking all options to ensure accountability.”
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