Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said Sunday the agency has launched an internal investigation after the video garnered attention on social media.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is initiating an internal probe after a video surfaced on social media, purportedly showing law enforcement forcibly extracting a man from a car and striking him during a traffic stop that took place in February.
The video, posted on social media early Sunday, shows a traffic stop that police said occurred Feb. 19, 2025.
The footage captures the driver asserting that he was pulled over by an officer due to his headlights being off. He mentions that, despite there being no rain, many other drivers were also without headlights.
The video appears to have been taken when there was still light outside.
Within the video, the driver seems to be conversing with an officer positioned at the passenger-side window, though the officer isn’t visible. The officer can be heard stating, “It doesn’t matter, you’re still required to have headlights on.”
The driver responds: “Can you pull that law up?” The officer then says, “Yeah, when you step out of the car, I will.”
The driver is then heard saying, “Can you call your supervisor?” The officer says, “Huh,” and the driver repeats, “Can you call your supervisor?”
The officer, who is out of frame, says, “Alright, go for it.” Then, another officer standing outside the driver’s window punches the driver’s side window until it shatters. That officer then yells, “Exit the vehicle now,” and repeats the phrase, and punches the driver in the head. The officer then asks the driver to “Show me your hands.”
The driver, still seated, replies, “Here,” with his hands raised. The driver then asks, “What is your reason, sir?” An officer then pulls the driver from his seat and out of the vehicle. An officer is heard saying, “Step out.”
At least five officers are seen in the video at this point, gathering around the driver. An officer grabs the driver while saying, “Get on the ground” and “Stop fighting.” One officer is seen grabbing the driver’s head and then punching him in the chin before the driver is forced to the ground.
This portion of the incident, when the man is on the ground, was not captured in the video. However, the driver and the officers can be heard arguing.
One officer can be heard saying, “Stop fighting,” “Hands behind your back,” “Stop resisting,” and “What’s wrong with you?”
The driver is heard saying, “What do you mean, I was putting my hands behind my back,” before asking, “What’s going on, man?” An officer replies, “You’re under arrest, that’s what’s going on.”
As the driver is being placed in handcuffs, an officer can be heard saying the driver had marijuana in his right pocket.
An officer is then seen ending the video moments later.
Hours after the video was posted on social media, it received thousands of views and comments.
Sunday afternoon, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters released the following statement:
A JSO spokesperson told First Coast News the agency is unaware of any filed complaint matching the video description.
Additionally, State 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.
First Coast News has reached out to the user who posted the video, and we are still waiting to hear back. First Coast News is also working to identify the driver in the video.
No additional information about the incident has been released at this time.
