JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Lawyers representing 22-year-old William McNeil Jr., whose arrest during a Jacksonville traffic stop has gained widespread attention, claim that “new evidence” will demonstrate that one of the officers involved pointed a gun at McNeil.

Civil rights lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels announced in a Monday press release that a news conference is scheduled for Tuesday morning in Chicago to “unveil new evidence.”

McNeil was stopped for supposed headlight and seatbelt violations on February 19, 2025. Although charges related to the traffic infractions were dismissed, McNeil confessed to small-scale drug possession and resisting an officer without using violence a day following his arrest.

Cellphone video of his arrest, which went viral months later, showed a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police officer break McNeil’s driver’s side window before punching him once in the face. McNeil was then pulled from the car and forced to the ground by multiple officers.

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said the officers involved have been cleared of criminal wrongdoing, but an internal review to determine if the officers violated JSO policy is ongoing. Officer Donald Bowers, the officer seen in the viral video punch McNeil in the head, has been stripped of his authority pending the outcome of the investigation.

Bodycam video of the incident showed McNeil refusing to exit his vehicle and provide his license and registration to the arresting officer. 

Waters has contended that the cellphone video of the incident doesn’t show the whole traffic stop and noted that McNeil’s refusal to comply with the officer’s commands warranted his arrest. 

The news conference is slated for Tuesday, 11 a.m. Central Time at a Hyatt Regency in Chicago. Crump, Daniels and Sue-Ann Robinson will join McNeil and his family to share their remarks.