{"id":25400,"date":"2025-07-21T05:38:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T05:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/25400\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T05:38:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T05:38:14","slug":"jso-investigating-after-social-media-video-shows-officers-hit-mans-face-break-car-window-during-feb-traffic-stop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/25400\/","title":{"rendered":"JSO investigating after social media video shows officers hit man\u2019s face, break car window during Feb. traffic stop"},"content":{"rendered":"

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 The Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office said it has launched an internal investigation<\/a> into the circumstances surrounding an incident that occurred in February, but was shown in a video posted to social media early Sunday morning. <\/p>\n

RELATED: Man killed in officer-involved shooting after 20-minute standoff following crash at Beach Boulevard intersection: JSO<\/a><\/p>\n

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We are aware of a video circulating on social media showing a traffic stop represented to be from February 19, 2025. We have launched an internal investigation into it and the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/P5xiZl9HyI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jax Sheriff’s Office (@JSOPIO) July 20, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n

In the video, JSO officers can be seen breaking a car window, hitting a man in his face, and pulling him out of his SUV following a traffic stop that the agency says is represented to have taken place on Feb. 19. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware of a video circulating on social media showing a traffic stop represented to be from February 19, 2025,\u201d JSO said. \u201cWe hold our officers to the highest standards and are committed to thoroughly determining exactly what occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the video, which was posted by a man named Will McNeil Jr, 22, and reviewed by News4JAX, McNeil appears to be discussing why he was pulled over with an officer who is near his passenger side window. <\/p>\n

According to McNeil Jr., the incident took place around 4 p.m. He also said he was being pulled over because his headlights were off. <\/p>\n

Arrest reports from JSO say the incident occurred at about 4:17 p.m. and confirm that McNeil Jr. was pulled over near Jacksonville\u2019s Woodstock neighborhood because his vehicle \u201cdid not have its headlights or tail lights illuminated in inclement weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Arrest reports also state that McNeil Jr. became \u201cverbally combative\u201d with the arresting officer and that the officer asked him for his driver\u2019s license, registration and proof of insurance to which McNeil Jr. replied, \u201ccall your supervisor\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe suspect refused to comply and shut the driver\u2019s door and locked it. I gave numerous orders to the suspect to provide his identification, which he refused,\u201d the arresting officer wrote in his report. <\/p>\n

When the video shows McNeil Jr. asking the officer to pull out the law that he was believed to have violated, the officer says, \u201cWhen you step out of the car, I will.\u201d <\/p>\n

McNeil Jr. then asks the officer for a supervisor, and the officer can then be heard saying, \u201cGo for it,\u201d which is followed by a different JSO officer striking the driver\u2019s side window three times and breaking it. <\/p>\n

As the officer yells, \u201cExit the vehicle now! Exit the vehicle!\u201d he can be seen striking McNeil Jr. in the face once before asking him to show his hands. <\/p>\n

McNeil Jr. shows the officer his hands. The driver\u2019s side door is then opened by the officer, and McNeil\u2019s seatbelt is unfastened as he asks, \u201cWhat is your reasoning, sir?\u201d before being pulled from his seat.<\/p>\n

According to the arresting officer in his report, he writes that he told McNeil that he was being placed under arrest for resisting an officer without violence and that McNeil \u201crefused to exit the vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave the suspect several warnings that I was going to break the window and remove him from the vehicle if he did not comply with lawful commands. The suspect continued to refuse to comply, at which time I broke the driver\u2019s window and opened the driver\u2019s door,\u201d the officer writes.<\/p>\n

The video then appears to show an officer hitting McNeil Jr. in the face again as multiple officers push him to the ground and yell out commands.<\/p>\n

The arresting officer adds in his report that he believed McNeil Jr. was reaching for a knife under his seat and was \u201ccontinuing to pull away from officers\u201d while refusing to place his hands behind his back, which required other officers to apply physical force. <\/p>\n

The camera does not pick up what is happening to McNeil Jr. as he is on the ground, but McNeil Jr. can be heard saying, \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d to which a JSO officer responds, \u201cYou\u2019re under arrest, that\u2019s what\u2019s going on.\u201d<\/p>\n

McNeil Jr. can also be heard saying, \u201cYou don\u2019t have a lawful reason,\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m just trying to have a regular conversation with y\u2019all.\u201d <\/p>\n

It is unclear which JSO officers are speaking, but one can be heard saying, \u201cThat\u2019s not how it works…When they ask you to step out of the vehicle, you should have done that s***.\u201d<\/p>\n

An officer also appears to ask McNeil Jr., \u201cSo why close the door if you see him pull up?\u201d McNeil appears to respond, saying, \u201cBecause, man, what do you mean? He\u2019s talking about arresting me and stuff and I didn\u2019t do anything wrong.\u201d <\/p>\n

News4JAX spoke with McNeil, who, through his attorneys, have permitted us to show the video that he posted to social media. The video can be found at the bottom of this story. <\/p>\n

He tells us that after the incident shown in the video, he was taken to jail. <\/p>\n

\u201cSuffered a chipped tooth. Split lip. And went through my lip as I went to the concrete\u2026[I] also had a concussion and suffer from short-term memory loss now,” he said.<\/p>\n

News4JAX also contacted the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office about the video, and received the following response:<\/p>\n

The video that preceded the statement by the sheriff was brought to our attention earlier today.\u00a0 As it is Sunday, those who are responsible for reviewing instances such as this are not in the office.\u00a0 I am not sure when or where this incident took place, or who is involved \u2013 the individual sitting in the driver\u2019s seat or the officers shown.<\/p>\n

As the sheriff stated, this incident and the circumstances surrounding what is shown in the released video will be reviewed to identify the questions you have asked below and more.<\/p>\n

As soon as we have those answers, we will be able to share more.<\/p>\n

Spokesperson for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office<\/p>\n

State Representative Angie Nixon also posted to social media about the video<\/a>, saying she is aware of it and has reached out to the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office for more information. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll be sending a formal letter and request to meet about that, the deaths in the jail and other cases related to potential JSO misconduct,\u201d Nixon wrote.<\/p>\n

Around 9 p.m., Harry Daniels, a federal civil rights attorney, said on social media that he and high-profile attorney Benjamin Crump<\/a> will be representing McNeil. <\/p>\n

William McNeil Jr., the 22-year-old Black man whose assault at the hands\u00a0of officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office (JSO) has gone viral on social media, has hired nationally renowned civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and Ben Crump to help him fight for justice following a February 19 incident when JSO officers violently smashed his window and punched him in the face multiple times after he asked to speak to a supervisor.<\/p>\n

In the video, McNeil asks the officers while they pulled him over and they answer saying it was because he didn\u2019t have his headlights on. When McNeil responded that it was daylight and it wasn\u2019t raining, the officer said it didn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

This is only the latest in a long line of excessive force incidents involving the JSO. In September 2023, the department was the focus of a national outcry after a video of JSO officers violently beating 24-year-old Le\u2019Keian Woods while he was unarmed went viral. In 2019, JSO officers faced a federal lawsuit for killing<\/p>\n

22-year-old Jamee Johnson after pulling him over for an alleged seat belt violation.<\/p>\n

Attorney Harry Daniels<\/p>\n

Attorney Ben Crump said, \u201cIt should be obvious to anyone watching this video that William McNeil wasn\u2019t a threat to anyone. He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights, and they beat him for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n