Two high-profile civil rights attorneys are taking up the case of a local man who was punched at least twice by Jacksonville Sheriff’s officers after he refused to exit his car during a traffic stop in February.
Video of the incident has sparked outrage and racked up millions of views online.
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That video shows an officer smashing 22-year-old William McNeil Jr.’s driver’s side window and then punching him across the face.
After McNeil is pulled from the car, the same officer can be seen pushing him in the face again as a group of officers wrestled him to the ground.
High-profile civil rights attorneys Benjamin Crump and Harry Daniels have agreed to represent McNeil.
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State Representative Angie Nixon (D-Jacksonville) argued Crump and Daniels’ involvement suggests there’s strong evidence behind McNeil’s claims.
“They have a case on their hands. They saw what we saw,” Nixon said.
Both attorneys have been involved in high-profile cases in Jacksonville in the past.
Crump represented the families of the victims of the Dollar General shooting, which happened in August 2023.
Daniels took up the 2019 Jacksonville police killing of Jamee Johnson and the alleged case of Jacksonville police brutality involving Le’Keian Woods in 2023.
Crump is most famous for representing Trayvon Martin’s family and the family of George Floyd.
Defense attorney Chris Carson noted Crump in particular often tries his cases in the court of public opinion before entering the courtroom.
“When the strategy is something that calls for, in a sense, waging an effective PR campaign, it does appear that’s something he’s successful at,” Carson said.
But Carson noted cases involving accusations of excess force are difficult to pursue, and damages are generally limited to $200,000.
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That’s the settlement amount reached in the Johnson case.
Short of getting approval from the state legislature, higher awards are generally not possible due to the state’s sovereign immunity laws.
“There are circumstances where those caps can be worked around, but it’s just, it’s difficult. It’s not something that is as straightforward as a lot of other types of civil litigation,” Carson said.
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Officer D. Bowers, the officer seen hitting McNeil in the video, has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing, according to Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters.
However, the sheriff said the officer has been stripped of his policing authority and is the subject of an internal investigation to determine whether his conduct violated JSO policy.
The ultimate determination at the end of that investigation will likely play a key role in any potential litigation stemming from McNeil’s arrest.
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