JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As national criticism grows over a viral video showing a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) officer slapping and punching a young Black driver, Jacksonville City Council members, who control the agency’s funding, have mostly stayed silent.
The cellphone video, first shared on social media Sunday, shows 22-year-old William McNeil Jr., a Black college student, being dragged from his car, slapped, and punched by JSO Officer Donald Bowers after a traffic stop for allegedly not using headlights on a cloudy afternoon in February. Notably, responding officers also did not have their headlights on.
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Action News Jax’s Ben Becker reached out to all 19 members of the Jacksonville City Council. Despite growing scrutiny, many council members either declined to comment or said they lacked sufficient information.
One unnamed councilmember expressed fear of political backlash, saying they didn’t want to be “Pelusoed” -- a reference to Councilman Jimmy Peluso, who was stripped of committee duties after criticizing Council President Kevin Carrico over diversity issues in leadership appointments.
Council reactions
Here’s what seven councilmembers who responded had to say:
- Ken Amaro: “I have no comment. I will let the investigation follow its course.”
- Mike Gay: “I really haven’t had a chance to listen, read, or watch the Sheriff’s statement. Due to all the pending litigation, I will decline to comment now and let the process sort it out.”
- Joe Carlucci: “None.”
- Peluso: “I don’t envy being a police officer today or in any other time, and a traffic stop can go badly very quickly. I think many are asking why a stop was really necessary, and if this escalation could have been avoided. The Sheriff is moving forward on his administrative review of the incident, and I will be reading the report and asking if policies need changing.”
- Randy White: “Sheriff Waters has a process in place and I have full confidence that he will handle [it] the correct way. I support him 100%.”
- Rory Diamond: “Don’t know enough about it yet.”
- Matt Carlucci: “It wasn’t a good look, and I understand the public concern, but we need to allow the State Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Office the time and space to gather all the facts and conduct a full, fair investigation.”
How we got here
On Monday, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters held a news conference releasing body camera footage showing multiple angles of the encounter. He said McNeil refused to comply with officers’ commands before force was used.
McNeil was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as resisting an officer without violence, according to the arrest report.
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He pleaded guilty to and was adjudicated guilty of resisting a police officer without violence and driving on a suspended driver’s license, Waters said.
The State Attorney’s Office declined to press charges against Officer Bowers, but the incident remains under internal investigation by JSO.
Budget, politics, and power
The Sheriff’s Office is currently seeking a $640 million budget for fiscal year 2025–2026, a nearly 40% increase from 2020.
At that time, former Councilmember Garrett Dennis proposed freezing half of the JSO budget due to a lack of “accountability, transparency and communication” and pushed for a Police Citizens Review Board.
Dennis, then a vocal Democratic presence, now works in Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan’s administration as the city’s director of boards and commissions.
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The Mayor’s Office initially called the video “disturbing,” but later issued a more cautious statement:
“The Mayor’s Office and City of Jacksonville do not have additional comment while JSO is conducting their administrative investigation and with the possibility of litigation.”
JSO has declined further comment, as McNeil has retained prominent civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and Ben Crump -- known for representing the families of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Trayvon Martin.
City Council will begin reviewing the budget in August.
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