JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 21st-century Rosa Parks moment - that’s the way William McNeil Jr.’s attorneys described his case during a Wednesday news conference.
It was the hit seen millions of times across the world as a Jacksonville Sheriff’s officer struck 22-year-old McNeil in the face during a February traffic stop.
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“I was really just scared,” McNeil said Wednesday.
McNeil Jr. spoke publicly for the first time since releasing cell phone video of his arrest over the weekend.
He was joined by his family, the President of Livingstone College, where he is a student, and his team of nationally-renowned civil rights attorneys, Benjamin Crump and Harry Daniels.
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“This is about driving while Black,” McNeil’s attorney Ben Crump said.
Crump compared McNeil’s demeanor during the arrest to that of Rosa Parks, when she was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat in 1955.
“What he exhibited was 21st century Rosa Parks moment, where an African American had the audacity to say ‘I deserve equal justice under the law, I deserve to be treated like a human being with all the respect that a human being is entitled to,’” Crump said.
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The officer seen hitting McNeil, Donald Bowers, has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the State Attorney’s Office, but was stripped of his policing authority pending the result of an internal investigation on Monday.
That same day, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters released body cam video of McNeil’s arrest, which shows he failed to comply with multiple commands from officers to step out of his car and had a knife on his floorboard.
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Waters declined to pass judgment on the use of physical force by the officers until the internal investigation is completed.
“I’m not excusing that administratively. There are things we definitely need to look at, but the context of this video should tell you everything you need to know,” Waters said Monday.
At the same time McNeil’s team spoke Wednesday morning, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis chimed in on the controversy during a press conference he was holding across town.
RELATED:Jacksonville Sheriff answers community questions on viral traffic stop at town hall meeting
When asked about his thoughts on the situation, DeSantis said he has full confidence in Waters.
“If there’s anything that these guys are not living up to the standard, he’s gonna hold them accountable, but it seems to me like this is trying to create a narrative,” DeSantis said.
But McNeil’s attorneys argue the cell phone video speaks for itself and brings to light details about the arrest that might have never been known, as no official reports made any mention of the initial strike to McNeil’s face.
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“You have to look at that video and say ‘This does not reflect our training, our policies or our values’ and you need to terminate that officer immediately,” Crump said.
McNeil pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended license and resisting without violence one day after his arrest.
His attorneys argue the judge should not have allowed him to accept the deal, as they claim he was suffering from a concussion at the time due to the injuries he sustained during the arrest.
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