One other day, one other group of cops uncovered after committing egregious acts of police brutality in opposition to a Black man who was merely asking why he was pulled over and why he was being ordered to exit his automobile.
A video has not too long ago gone viral, exhibiting 22-year-old William McNeil Jr. being stopped by a Jacksonville, Florida, police officer on Feb. 19. The officer instructed McNeil he stopped him as a result of his headlights weren’t on, regardless of it showing to be daytime. So, an understandably confused Black man factors out that the cop’s motive for the cease doesn’t make sense. Then he’s requested, for no discernible motive, to get out of his automotive, and when he doesn’t instantly observe that demand, properly, you possibly can see within the video beneath what occurs subsequent.
From ABC Information:
Within the video, officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Workplace say they pulled McNeil over as a result of the automobile’s headlights weren’t on. McNeil questioned the visitors cease as a result of it wasn’t raining and it was nonetheless gentle exterior.
An officer, who can’t be seen within the video, is heard saying, “It doesn’t matter, you’re nonetheless required to have headlights on.”
An officer asks McNeil to step out of the automotive, and when McNeil asks for the officer’s supervisor, one other officer punches the motive force’s window till it shatters. The officer then punches McNeil within the head earlier than unlocking the automobile door, unbuckling his seatbelt and forcibly eradicating him from the motive force’s seat.
As soon as out of the automobile, a number of officers then collect round McNeil. One officer is seen grabbing McNeil’s head and punching him within the chin earlier than forcing him to the bottom.
Florida legislation states clearly that motorists should use their headlights “from sundown to dawn, together with twilight hours,” or “throughout any rain, smoke, or fog.” So, the officer didn’t have an actual motive to tug McNeil over within the first place, and there’s loads of motive to surprise what the officer was actually fishing for that prompted him to weasel his method round possible trigger. Whereas we’re all questioning about that, we would as properly surprise why McNeil’s utterly affordable inquiry as to why he was pulled over was responded to by a requirement that he exit his automotive. For what? To look him and his automobile? Why? Did McNeil’s failure to function his headlights in broad daylight present affordable suspicion that he wanted to be additional detained and searched?
It seems that even earlier than breaking his automotive window, dragging him out and beating on him, these cops already had each intention of violating McNeil’s civil rights, and their fragile blue egos despatched them excessive as soon as they noticed McNeil wouldn’t let stated violations go unchallenged.
On Sunday, civil attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels introduced McNeil retained them to symbolize him.
“I’m completely disgusted by the actions of those officers however, sadly, I’m not stunned,” Daniels stated in a press release. “The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Workplace has an extended historical past of this type of useless violence and brutality.”
In his personal assertion, Crump famous appropriately that “it needs to be apparent to anybody watching this video that William McNeil wasn’t a risk to anybody.”
“He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights, and so they beat him for it,” he added.
A press release despatched to NewsOne from Crump’s workplace reads: “That is solely the newest in an extended line of extreme drive incidents involving the JSO. In September 2023, the division was the main focus of a nationwide outcry after a video of JSO officers violently beating 24-year-old Le’Keian Woods whereas he was unarmed went viral. In 2019, JSO officers confronted a federal lawsuit for killing 22-year-old Jamee Johnson after pulling him over for an alleged seat belt violation.”
In the meantime, Jacksonville Sheriff T.Okay. Waters issued a press release Sunday, saying, “We’re conscious of a video circulating on social media exhibiting a visitors cease represented to be from February 19, 2025.”
“We have now launched an inner investigation into it and the circumstances surrounding this incident,” Waters continued. “We maintain our officers to the very best requirements and are dedicated to completely figuring out precisely what occurred.”
It’s price noting that Waters introduced this inner investigation a full 5 months after the incident occurred, begging the query: Would there be any investigation in any respect if the video hadn’t not too long ago gone viral?
These cops carried out what needs to be thought-about an unlawful cease, broke McNeil’s window, forcibly pulled him out of the automotive, and beat him prefer it was simply one other day. That’s how ingrained police violence in opposition to Black folks is within the very tradition of policing.
Hopefully, William McNeil Jr. receives the entire justice he’s owed.
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