The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office alleges William McNeil Jr., 22, was reaching for a knife during the traffic stop before officers used force.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in Florida has shared an image of a knife that they claim was found in a man’s vehicle during a contentious traffic stop that took place in February. Along with the image, they provided a report explaining the use of physical force by the officers during the incident.
On February 19, 22-year-old William McNeil Jr. was stopped on West Palm Avenue in Jacksonville for driving without headlights and not wearing a seatbelt. The police report states that he was arrested and charged with non-violent resistance to an officer, driving with a suspended license, and drug-related offenses.
Five months after the event, McNeil released a video of the encounter with officers, which has since attracted national attention. The footage shows an officer breaking McNeil’s car window and striking him in the face.
First Coast News obtained McNeil’s arrest report. It states that upon being pulled over, McNeil “immediately became verbally combative,” and that he refused to comply with officers and would not get out of the car. It also states McNeil “was reaching for the floorboard of the vehicle where a large knife was sitting.”
In a statement to First Coast News, McNeil’s attorney said, “the narrative in this report isn’t just suspicious. It is completely divorced from reality.”
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters released three bodycam videos from three different officers who were on scene, along with a picture of a knife that was found. McNeil could not be seen in any of the videos reaching for the knife. Waters was asked about this during a press conference Monday. He said he did not see McNeil’s hands and did not want to make assumptions.
“I don’t see where his hands are,” Waters said. “I can’t assume, Jake. No one can assume. I operate and we operate off facts and facts alone. I can’t make assumptions. All I can go by when I read those things is what’s stated in the report. I’m not saying whether it’s true or whether it’s not, I’m saying no one sees his hands at that point. He says, ‘Put your hands up,’ then his hands come up. But after the strike to the face, like I said again, I’m not trying this case in front of the public. I’m trying to give the public the information in context of what happened. No one saw his hands at that point. Don’t know what happened from there, but that’s part of the investigative process.”
The sheriff’s office has also released a “Response-to-Resistance” report, explaining why the officers used physical force on McNeil during his arrest from their perspectives.
Officer D.J. Bowers said in the report that he used force to protect himself, protect other officers and to “overcome resistance.”
Officer D.D. Miller said in the report that he used force to protect other officers and to “overcome resistance.”
Waters said the officers were cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the State Attorney’s Office. The incident is now under administrative review by the sheriff’s office.
