According to a police report, JSO pulled over William McNeil for not having his headlights on in inclement weather, and not wearing a seatbelt.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Charges related to traffic offenses, which police used as justification to stop a man in February, were dismissed the day after Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers confronted the man in a widely-shared video depicting the aggressive incident, according to documents accessed by First Coast News.
Records from Duval County Court indicate that William McNeil was cited for not using his headlights during adverse weather conditions such as rain, fog, or smoke, and for failing to wear a seatbelt. These citations were mentioned in a police report obtained by First Coast News as the justification for the initial traffic stop by a JSO officer.
These citations were dropped on Feb. 20, one day after the viral encounter.
McNeil was found guilty of resisting an officer without violence and driving with a suspended license, resulting in a sentence of two days served in jail.
Court records show McNeil still has standing drug charges from the stop after 3.5 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia were found in his car.
What happened?
In the video, officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office say they pulled McNeil over because the vehicle’s headlights were not on. McNeil questioned the traffic stop because it wasn’t raining and it was still light outside.
An officer, who cannot be seen in the video, is heard saying, “It doesn’t matter, you’re still required to have headlights on.”
An officer asks McNeil to step out of the car, and when McNeil asks for the officer’s supervisor, another officer punches the driver’s window until it shatters. The officer then punches McNeil in the head before unlocking the vehicle door, unbuckling his seatbelt and forcibly removing him from the driver’s seat.
Once out of the vehicle, multiple officers then gather around McNeil. One officer is seen grabbing McNeil’s head and punching him in the chin before forcing him to the ground.
The video, posted early Sunday, has garnered hundreds of thousands of views online.
“I am absolutely disgusted by the actions of these officers but, unfortunately, I’m not surprised,” said Daniels. “The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has a long history of this kind of needless violence and brutality.”
“It should be obvious to anyone watching this video that William McNeil wasn’t a threat to anyone,” Crump added. “He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights and they beat him for it.”
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters issued a statement Sunday afternoon addressing the video, saying, “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.”
We asked First Coast News Crime and Safety Expert Ken Jefferson about the headlights law in Florida.
“What was the probable cause for the stop? The statute for pulling someone over for driving without your headlights is if it’s foggy, smoky or rainy. Based on the video I watched, it looked like the sun was out,” he said.
Daniels said it took months for his client to recover.
“His tooth went through his lip at some point. He had to get stitches. From getting slammed on the ground, he suffered a closed-head injury,” Daniels said.
He said the ideal outcome would be that the officers involved are held accountable.
“That officer that punched and beat him and the ones who watched and did nothing should be held to the same rule of law that everyone else is held to. Arrest and prosecution. That’s a perfect world,” Daniels said.
A JSO spokesperson told First Coast News the agency is unaware of any filed complaint matching the video description.
Additionally, Florida Rep. Angie Nixon posted on social media about the video Sunday, saying she reached out to the sheriff’s office to meet about the incident.
Police report inconsistencies
First Coast News obtained the police report from the Feb. 19 incident involving McNeil.
The police report states McNeil was pulled over around 4:17 p.m. after an officer saw his headlights and taillights were off in inclement weather. The officer said he also saw the driver, McNeil, not wearing his seatbelt. In the now-viral video, posted Sunday, McNeil is seen wearing his seatbelt.
The officer said in the police report, once he pulled McNeil over, McNeil “quickly opened” the driver’s door, immediately becoming “verbally combative.”
The officer said he told McNeil the reason he stopped him, then asking for his identification, to which he said McNeil replied, “call your supervisor,” before closing the driver’s door and locking it, according to the police report.
The officer then calls for backup, according to the report, telling McNeil he was being placed under arrest for resisting an officer without violence.
Around this time, the report states McNeil was given “several warnings” that the officer was going to break his window and remove him from the car if he didn’t comply with his commands. The officer said McNeil continued to refuse to comply, at which point he broke his window.
In the viral video, the officer who breaks McNeil’s window does not appear to give any verbal warnings or commands to McNeil before breaking the window. Instead, the officer appears to tell other officers he’s about to break the window, although this statement does not appear to be directed towards McNeil, and is not heard in the cell phone recording. An officer shown off camera tells the officer on the driver’s side of the car to “go for it,” at which point he breaks McNeil’s window.
At this point in the police report, the officer states McNeil was “reaching for the floorboard of the [car] where a large knife was sitting” as multiple officers removed him from the car.
In the video, McNeil appears to look at the camera as the window is broken and shifting his hands forward, at which point he shows his hands and folds his arms across his chest, not resisting the officers as they removed him from the car.
In the police report, as McNeil was removed from the car, the officer said he refused to put his hands behind his back, at which point “physical force” was applied to him.
The video shows McNeil briefly putting his hands behind his back as an officer strikes him in the face, at which point he moves his hands from behind his back in what appears to be an attempt to shield his face.
The report concludes by saying McNeil was eventually placed in handcuffs and arrested, complaining that his tooth was chipped, and the officer observed blood on his mouth.
Around three and a half grams of marijuana were removed from the car, as well as drug paraphernalia and the knife mentioned in the report.
Throughout the report, there’s no mention of the specific force used against McNeil, and no mention of officers using force on McNeil while he was still in the car.
The video shows McNeil being punched in the head while he was still in the car, appearing non-combative. The video shows McNeil being punched at least once more in the head after he’s removed from the car.
