A Florida sheriff’s department has launched an internal investigation following the release of a viral video showing officers breaking a car window, punching a driver in the face, and forcibly removing him from the vehicle during a February traffic stop for driving without headlights.
The incident, which occurred on February 19, 2025, involved a confrontation between a group of Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputies and a Black man who has since been identified as 22-year-old William McNeil Jr.
The disturbing video, posted early Sunday, sparked outrage on social media, showing a savage encounter that left McNeil with a chipped tooth and nine stitches in his lip, according to an Instagram influencer named Mr. Checkpoint, an independent journalist who analyzes cases of police brutality and excessive force.
McNeil has since retained nationally renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump and attorney Harry Daniels to seek justice. According to a statement from Crump’s office, the assault is part of a deeply rooted pattern of excessive force by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. During the encounter, officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) smashed McNeil’s car window and punched him repeatedly in the face, attorneys said.
“This should never have happened,” Crump said in the statement. “It should be obvious to anyone watching this video that William McNeil wasn’t a threat to anyone. He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights and they beat him for it.”
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office released a statement on Sunday, addressing the incident six months after McNeil’s violent arrest.
“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 circumstances surrounding this incident. We hold our officers to the highest standards and are committed to thoroughly determining exactly what occurred,” the statement was signed by Duval County Sheriff T.K. Waters.
In the video, officers can be seen surrounding McNeil’s vehicle during what began as a stop for allegedly having his headlights off. The driver questioned the reason for the stop, stating that it was not raining and that other cars around him also didn’t have their headlights on.
“It doesn’t matter, you’re still required to have headlights on,” an officer is heard saying from the passenger side, out of frame.
“Can you pull that law up?” the driver asked.
“Yeah, when you step out of the car, I will,” the officer replied.
The driver then asked, “Can you call your supervisor?” The officer responded with, “Huh,” and the driver repeated the request. The officer then said, “Alright, go for it.”
Moments later, another officer standing outside the driver’s side began punching the window, causing the glass to shatter. McNeil remained still despite the dramatic escalation, with the officer yelling in his ear, “Exit the vehicle now,” before cold-cocking the driver through the broken window. “Show me your hands,” the officer shouted.
“Here,” the driver said calmly, raising his hands. “What is your reason, sir?”
An officer then opened the door and yanked the driver from his seat, shouting, “Step out!” At that point, one officer reached across the driver and unlatched his seat belt. From there, the officer yanked him out by his clothes, and at least five officers grabbed McNeil, manhandling him. Even then, McNeil did not fight back. One officer yelled, “Get on the ground,” and “stop fighting,” even though McNeil wasn’t resisting. An officer can be seen grabbing his head and punching him in the chin before forcing him to the ground.
The physical takedown during the arrest was not caught on video, but the audio continues. An officer is heard yelling, “Stop fighting,” “Hands behind your back,” and “Stop resisting.”
The driver replied, “What do you mean, I was putting my hands behind my back?” Then he asked, “What’s going on, man?”
“You’re under arrest, that’s what’s going on,” one officer grumbled.
As the man was handcuffed, an officer could be heard stating that the driver had marijuana in his right pocket. The video ends shortly thereafter.
According to News4JAX, McNeil was “adjudicated guilty” of resisting an officer without violence and driving on a suspended license. Other citations for not wearing a seat belt and driving without headlights in inclement weather appear to have been dismissed.
McNeil was sentenced to two days in jail, which he had already served by the time of his arraignment.
The original post, which first appeared on Substack, described the driver as calm and nonviolent during the entire ordeal.
Attorney Harry Daniels, who is also representing McNeil, expressed his outrage as well: “I am absolutely disgusted by the actions of these officers but, unfortunately, I’m not surprised. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has a long history of this kind of needless violence and brutality.”
Crump’s office pointed to a pattern of abuse involving JSO. In September 2023, the department faced national scrutiny after officers were filmed violently beating 24-year-old Le’Keian Woods, who was unarmed at the time. In another high-profile case, JSO officers were named in a 2019 federal lawsuit for the fatal shooting of 22-year-old Jamee Johnson during a traffic stop over an alleged seat belt violation.
McNeil’s legal team says the Feb. 19 incident is yet another example of why law enforcement agencies like JSO must be held accountable.
According to the police report obtained by First Coast News, McNeil was pulled over after an officer claimed his headlights and taillights were off during inclement weather and that he was not wearing a seatbelt. However, in the viral video, McNeil appears to be buckled in.
The officer wrote that McNeil “quickly opened” the driver’s side door and became “verbally combative” as soon as the vehicle came to a stop. After the officer told him why he was being stopped and requested identification, McNeil reportedly replied, “Call your supervisor,” before shutting and locking the door, prompting the officer to call for backup.
The report states that McNeil was told multiple times he would be arrested for resisting without violence and warned that officers would break his window if he didn’t comply. When McNeil refused, the officer wrote, the window was broken and officers attempted to remove him from the car.
At that point, according to the report, McNeil was “reaching for the floorboard of the vehicle where a large knife was sitting” as multiple officers tried to pull him out. It also says he “refused to place his hands behind his back,” prompting officers to use “physical force.”
The report notes that McNeil was eventually placed in handcuffs and complained of a chipped tooth. The officer documented observing blood on his mouth. Officers also said they recovered 3.5 grams of marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and the knife allegedly seen in the floorboard.
Despite documenting the physical resistance, the report does not mention the specific punches shown in the viral video or any use of force while McNeil was still inside the car.
By Sunday afternoon, the video had racked up thousands of views and comments online.
Despite the video’s spread, a spokesperson for JSO initially told news outlets that no complaint matching the description had been filed. The agency said it is still working to confirm the driver’s identity.
Florida Rep. Angie Nixon also weighed in, announcing on social media that she had contacted the Sheriff’s Office.
“Hey folks. I’ve been tagged and sent the video regarding the man getting beat up by JSO a few times today. I’ve reached out to the Sheriff’s Office. I’ll be sending a formal letter and request to meet about that, the deaths in the jail, and other cases related to potential JSO misconduct,” Nixon wrote.
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