JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — William McNeal Jr, the man whose controversial arrest where he was struck in the face multiple times by a JSO officer went viral in July, has officially filed a federal lawsuit.
“On that day, I really just wanted my side of the story to be heard and hopefully today, I hope my story gets heard today,” said McNeil during a news conference Wednesday.
In the new lawsuit McNeil’s attorneys claim JSO policies allowing for the use of a tactic known as a “discretionary blow” and not requiring officers to report use of force instances that don’t lead to injury, “creates a setting that promotes its officers to engage in illegal or excessive use of force without the fear of encountering any repercussions or consequences.”
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During Wednesday’s news conference, McNeil’s attorneys continued to allege McNeil’s traffic stop was the result of racial profiling.
“They’re looking for a reason to stop Black people for driving while Black,” said Attorney Ben Crump.
The initial reason given for the traffic stop was that McNeil had been driving without headlights on in bad weather and wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
In July, Action News Jax analyzed five years of local data and found 60 percent of tickets written by JSO for both offenses were issued to Black drivers, despite Black residents representing only about 30 percent of the city’s population.
But claims of racial profiling are notably absent from the lawsuit.
In a memo issued by the State Attorney’s Office last month, another explanation for the stop was offered, alleging McNeil had been seen leaving a home under active surveillance for narcotics activities.
McNeil’s attorneys dismissed that explanation as an attempt to justify what they view as an illegal traffic stop after the fact.
“They like to just throw things out once they get caught with their hands in the cookie jar. They try to justify the unjustifiable actions that we see on camera,” said Crump.
Both the city and JSO declined to comment on the lawsuit, given the pending litigation.
So far, an initial hearing has not been set.
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