JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax has confirmed the State Attorney’s Office did review the cell phone video of 22-year-old William McNeil Jr’s February arrest as it mulled whether the police officers involved committed any crimes.
Despite having access to and reviewing the now-viral cell phone video showing McNeil being hit in the face at least twice by officers, State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s office cleared the officers involved of any criminal charges just days after the footage was released.
“They saw everything that America is seeing and said no problem, and that is the problem,” said McNeil’s attorney Ben Crump during a press conference on Wednesday.
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McNeil’s legal team has also claimed McNeil was never interviewed as part of the State Attorney’s review of the arrest.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice Professor Dennis Kenney said he’s surprised the State Attorney’s Office didn’t hear from McNeil when reviewing the conduct of the officers.
“The totality of the circumstances matter, and the totality of the circumstances should have included not just what Mr. McNeil had to say, but what the other officers present had to say,” said Kenney.
We’ve asked the State Attorney’s Office why McNeil was never interviewed.
We’re told that question will be addressed in a memo to McNeil’s file that will be finalized in the coming days.
On the decision not to pursue criminal charges, Kenney noted the State Attorney’s Office not only considers whether a crime has been committed, but also the likelihood of securing a conviction.
Kenney says the fact McNeil pleaded guilty to resisting without violence and driving with a suspended license may have come into play.
“State’s attorneys don’t like to bring charges that they think they can’t win,” said Kenney.
Law enforcement groups have also claimed McNeil did not have the right to ignore officers’ commands to exit his car once he was told he was being placed under arrest for resisting.
“It is a serious offense not to follow the directions of an officer, which Mr. McNeil chose to ignore numerous times when he refused to exit his vehicle,” said Randy Reaves, Resident of FOP Lodge 5-30 in a statement released Thursday. “This decision to ignore an officer’s commands puts law enforcement, the suspect, and immediate public in unnecessary exposure to danger.”
On Monday, Sheriff T.K. Waters expressed a similar sentiment.
“It’s been dealt with several different times. You don’t resist when you’re doing your lawful duties. You don’t deserve to get violated, but you deserve to get what’s necessary to get you under control and to take you into custody,” said Waters.
Kenney said moving forward, he would expect McNeil to be interviewed as part of JSO’s internal investigation into the officer that struck him in the face during the arrest.
That officer, Donald Bowers, was stripped of his policing authority on Monday, pending the outcome of that investigation.
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