The mayor of Jacksonville, Florida, has spoken out after disturbing footage surfaced of police officers violently arresting a Black college student during a traffic stop—an incident that has triggered outrage across the country.
Mayor Donna Deegan addressed the public backlash surrounding the February 19 arrest of 22-year-old William McNeil Jr., whose video showing Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) officers breaking his window and assaulting him has gone viral.
“I understand the angst. I understand the upset,” Deegan told News4Jax. “But at the end of the day, let’s wait and see where it all goes. Hopefully there’s a good resolution.”
Deegan emphasized the need for patience as the city investigates the incident, adding, “There has to be an investigative process, and I have faith that it will be carried out.”
McNeil, who is now represented by prominent civil rights attorneys Benjamin Crump and Harry Daniels, was pulled over for allegedly not having his headlights on during inclement weather. But the dashboard footage and McNeil’s own recording suggest a much more troubling series of events.
According to McNeil, he opened his door to speak to the officer because his driver’s side window didn’t work. “I said, ‘What did I do wrong?’ He said, ‘Well, your headlights are off under this weather.’ I said, ‘There are others without headlights, and it’s not raining.’” When McNeil asked the officer to show him the law, the officer demanded he exit the vehicle.
Instead, McNeil requested a supervisor. That’s when Officer D. Bowen shattered his window and punched him in the face while yelling at him to get out. In the police report, Bowen claimed McNeil was reaching for a knife. However, the video shows McNeil complying with commands to show his hands.
The footage also appears to contradict police claims that McNeil wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. He can be seen buckled in, with officers even unfastening it themselves before dragging him out.
Once outside the car, McNeil was struck again by a second officer and pinned to the ground by several others. When he tried to explain that he was complying, an officer snapped, “Stop talking.”
McNeil later revealed at a press conference that he suffered a concussion and a fractured tooth that required nine stitches. “I was scared,” he said. “I just wanted to know why I was being pulled over.”
Despite pleading guilty to resisting arrest without violence and driving with a suspended license, McNeil and his legal team argue the officers used excessive force and targeted him because of his race.
“This wasn’t law enforcement, it was brutality,” Crump and Daniels said in a joint statement. “William was calm and compliant. Yet instead of answers, he got his window smashed and was punched in the face—all over a questionable claim about headlights in broad daylight.”
They are demanding the full release of all video footage and full accountability from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
JSO Sheriff T.K. Waters has launched both criminal and administrative reviews into the officers’ conduct. While acknowledging that “force was absolutely used,” he noted the state attorney’s office concluded that no criminal laws were violated.
“Just because force is ugly does not mean it’s unlawful or contrary to policy,” Waters said, while releasing bodycam footage showing McNeil refusing to exit the vehicle for about three minutes.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also weighed in, appearing to defend the officers. He suggested McNeil’s video was posted to fuel division and gain online traction. “There’s a rush to judgment… a desire to get clicks by creating division,” DeSantis told The Hill.
As tensions simmer, Mayor Deegan reiterated her plea for calm. “I’m asking the public to be a little patient,” she said. “Let’s let the investigative process run its course.”