On Tuesday, William McNeil Jr., the man hit by JSO officers during a now infamous traffic stop back in February, spoke alongside his legal team in Chicago.
They highlighted a camera angle from JSO bodycam they argue backs up McNeil’s claim he was held at gunpoint by officers during his arrest.
The dramatic arrest video of McNeil’s arrest has sparked national attention and new conversations around police use of force policies.
22-year-old McNeil can be seen receiving two blows to the face after refusing to exit his car during a traffic stop in February.
“The citizens of Jacksonville, Duval County, we believe they’re under siege,” said McNeil’s attorney Harry Daniels during the press conference Tuesday.
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
Now, McNeil’s attorneys are pointing to a segment of body camera footage, which they argue shows an officer with his gun pointed at McNeil, who is still in the driver’s seat of the car at that point.
McNeil spoke briefly during a press conference and argued the clip backs up his story.
McNeil has claimed he was afraid to get out of the car when told to do so by officers, in part because he saw an officer with his gun out.
“I was telling the truth from the evidence in the picture, I was being held at gunpoint and I didn’t feel safe,” said McNeil.
McNeil’s attorney, Ben Crump, even suggested there could have been multiple guns pulled on McNeil.
“We know there are other videos that exist, right Attorney Daniels, that we do not have and we don’t think that this was the only officer that drew his gun on this unarmed Black man,” said Crump.
JSO declined to clarify whether the officer seen in the body cam was holding a gun or a taser, citing pending litigation when asked.
An agency spokesperson did release a statement clarifying that the video angle highlighted by McNeil’s legal team is not new.
“JSO made the video available during a news conference, on our social media accounts, and through our public transparency portal. The video the attorneys released today has been publicly accessible since July 21, as evidenced by the JSO badge and captions,” said JSO Strategic Communications Executive Vic Micolucci.
WATCH: Jacksonville Sheriff releases officer body-cam video from viral traffic stop video
Action News Jax showed you Monday, since 2021, Black drivers made up 62 percent of the 79 people ticketed by the agency for driving without headlights on in poor weather, which was one of the reasons given for McNeil’s traffic stop.
That’s despite Black residents making up only 30 percent of the county’s population.
Attorney John Burris, who famously represented Rodney King, compared McNeil’s case to that infamous case of police brutality during the Tuesday press conference.
He argued it indicates there could be a larger issue related to JSO’s use of force against Black residents.
“When you saw Rodney King, you see this. What you’re really seeing is the continuation of almost 35 years of brutality that does occur in police cases impacting the Black community,” said Burris.
Sheriff T.K. Waters has argued McNeil escalated the situation by refusing to exit his car when ordered to do so by officers.
He has also pushed back on claims of systemic racial profiling within the agency.
“If I was ever stopped by the police, which I was as a young man, and they asked me to do something, I did it. Simple. Simple compliance. It doesn’t rise. It doesn’t get out of control,” said Sheriff Waters during a press conference last Monday.
The officer seen hitting McNeil in the cell phone video has been stripped of his policing power pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
The State Attorney’s Office has already cleared him and the other officers involved of any criminal wrongdoing.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
