Police have released body camera footage after arresting a 22-year-old man in Florida, where an officer was seen smashing a car window and striking the driver.
An alarming video, recorded by the driver, William McNeil Jr, captured the officer breaking the window, punching him, and forcibly removing him from the vehicle in Jacksonville.
But the sheriff’s office says a state prosecutor has found no misconduct by the cops involved – although an internal review is also in process.
The new bodycam footage released shows the 22-year-old had been pulled over for reportedly not having his headlights on or wearing a seatbelt.
He refuses to get out of his car when asked to by the officer and locks the door.
“It’s daylight, I don’t need the lights,” he says.
The cop then proceeds to smash the window after warning him for three minutes to exit the vehicle.
Jacksonville Sheriff TK Waters stated: “The State Attorney’s Office determined that none of the officers involved broke any criminal laws, although the administrative review is still pending.”
However, he added that one officer had been suspended pending a review.
“A person must comply with an officer’s commands, even if that person disagrees with that officer’s reasons for the stop,” the sheriff added.
According to a police report obtained by ABC News, McNeil was pulled over by cops at 4.15pm local time on February 19 this year.
Video shows him telling officers that he didn’t need to have his lights on as it wasn’t raining and asked to speak with a supervisor.
The cop calls for backup and repeatedly threatens to break the window before doing so.
The arrest claims: “The suspect was reaching for the floor board of the vehicle where a large knife was sitting.”
However, Sheriff Waters acknowledged at a news conference that it is unclear if this was true based on the videos, People has reported.
Footage posted by McNeil shows him with his hands up and visible as cops drag him out of the car.
He pleaded guilty to resisting a police officer without violence and driving with a suspended license, according to court records.
The 22-year-old was sentenced to two days in jail.
“McNeil was arrested and pled guilty to resisting a police officer without violence,” Sheriff Waters added.
“Force absolutely looks ugly, and because all force is ugly, whether or not the officer involved acted within outside JSO policy, that’s still what we’re investigating.”
In a social media video following the arrest, McNeil said he suffered a concussion and that his tooth was chipped and needed stitches to his mouth.
“This was very hard to do I’m not mentally healed from this but I had to get the word out eventually,” he posted in the video caption.
Harry Daniels, an attorney representing McNeil, told ABC News on Monday that the 22-year-old is now mulling legal action.
He told the broadcaster: “This officer broke his window and just punched him in his face. Mr. McNeil suffered very significant injury.
“We are planning to do everything we can do to secure justice.
“We are seeking all options to ensure accountability.”
