JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — On Wednesday at St. Paul Church in Jacksonville, a man featured in a widely circulated traffic stop video involving Jacksonville sheriff’s officers, which shows him being punched, spoke publicly for the first time with civil rights attorney Ben Crump by his side during a news conference.

William McNeil Jr. spoke briefly at the nearly hourlong press conference, detailing what was going through his mind during the violent encounter.

“I was just really scared,” McNeil said. “I just wanted to know why I was getting pulled over and why I needed to step out of the car.”

McNeil released cellphone footage Sunday from inside his car during the Feb. 19 traffic stop on West Palm Avenue.

The footage, amassing over 20 million views and attracting national attention, captures McNeil questioning the reason for the stop, with JSO officers responding that it was because his headlights were off during the rain.

McNeil asks for the officers to call their supervisor, at which point one officer smashes the driver’s side window and punches McNeil in the face.

Subsequently, McNeil is removed from the vehicle and struck in the face by a JSO officer before being tackled and apprehended by other officers.

He pleaded guilty to resisting an officer without violence and driving on a suspended license a day after the encounter, as a judge sentenced him to time served (two days) in jail.

Wednesday, Crump, representing McNeil and his family, organized the news conference alongside Jacksonville civil rights attorney Harry Daniels and McNeil’s parents.

McNeil’s mother, Latoya Solomon, called him a “good son,” and said she couldn’t finish the video the first time she watched it.

Crump called for Sheriff T.K. Waters to immediately fire the officer who punched McNeil in the video, identified by Waters as Ofc. D.J. Bowers.

“You can’t justify this, you can’t condone this…you have to condemn this,” Crump said, addressing the sheriff.

Waters said in a Monday press conference that Bowers has been stripped of his police authority pending the outcome of JSO’s internal policy investigation. Waters also said Bowers will not be facing criminal charges from the incident.

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters addressed footage of the now-viral February traffic stop in a Monday press conference.

In a police report, officers said they pulled McNeil over for not having his headlights on in inclement weather, and for not wearing his seatbelt.

Waters said he released bodycam video in the interest of transparency, wanting to show the full context of the incident to the public.

“One piece of evidence considered in a vacuum without any context can lead to skewed conclusions,” Waters said of the viral cellphone footage. “When incomplete, cell phone camera footage becomes the basis on which public opinion turns, the results can be equally faulty. A rush to judgment, whether it be in a criminal investigation or in a court of public opinion, can lead to flawed conclusions.”

Waters said the officers involved in the incident have not been recommended for criminal charges by the State Attorney’s Office, but are still under internal review for potential department policy violations.

You can watch the full press conference with Sheriff T.K. Waters, including the bodycam footage, here:

Tuesday, Waters answered community questions on the incident in an already scheduled community town hall on the Westside.

With the newly released bodycam footage and McNeil’s viral video, Waters told First Coast News he was expecting citizens at Tuesday night’s town hall to have questions about the incident.

“We’re not running away from any of this stuff, this is about informing the public and letting people know what we’re doing in the agency,” said Waters. “Reasonable people, logical people that see an entire incident from beginning to end with context will understand a lot more took place there.”

Waters received questions about race and officers working closer with the Black community.

“Do you believe racism is real?” Jacksonville’s Chief Public Affairs Officer read a question card.

“Uh, yeah. Do I believe the entire world is racist? No,” said Waters. “Yes, I absolutely believe it, but do I believe that in the United States, in 2025, there’s a system in place held by the man to stop people from succeeding? No. Because if that was the case, I would not be standing before you right now.”

“I do believe that we need to work as hard as we can to continue to reach out and touch our communities, and that’s what we’re doing,” said Waters.

Following the Ben Crump news conference Wednesday, Waters released this statement:

“In light of William McNeil Jr.’s public announcement that he has retained counsel, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office will not offer any further comment regarding the circumstances surrounding McNeil’s February 19th arrest.  Our agency has publicly released body-worn camera footage pertaining to this matter, and I provided a briefing on the status of the investigation earlier this week.  This publicly shared information is currently available on all JSO’s social media platforms and our transparency portal.  However, in anticipation of litigation, our agency will not speak further on this matter.”