Body Cam Footage Shows Will McNeil Jr. Traffic Stop

William ‘Will’ McNeil Jr. is the newest Black man to change into a nationwide subject over a regulation enforcement interplay. The 22-year-old launched the February visitors cease video earlier this week involving a minimum of three Jacksonville Sheriff’s Workplace deputies. Will’s video depicted cops seemingly escalating a easy visitors cease over headlight use to bodily violence. By the top, Will’s driver’s window was shattered, he had a chipped tooth, and wanted 9 lip stitches.

In a presser on Monday, Sheriff T.Ok. Waters stated the viral video doesn’t paint the entire image. His company has since launched bodycam footage. Now, social media is weighing in on whether or not the incident displays extreme use of power and police brutality. Or was it a scarcity of compliance from McNeil Jr., just like the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Workplace instructed?

RELATED: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Workplace Investigating After Visitors Cease Leaves 22-Yr-Previous With Chipped Tooth & 9 Lip Stitches (VIDEO)

William McNeil Jr. Speaks Out At Press Convention 

In accordance to the Related Press, McNeil Jr. is a biology main who performed within the marching band at Livingstone Faculty, a traditionally Black Christian school in Salisbury, North Carolina.

For context, McNeil stated in his viral put up that he’s nonetheless not totally mentally healed from the encounter. He additionally apologized to his family members for his modified conduct because the incident. At a information convention in Jacksonville on Wednesday, the 22-year-old spoke softly and made a couple of temporary feedback. His household and civil rights attorneys have been by his aspect.

“That day I simply actually wished to know why I used to be getting pulled over and why I wanted to step out of the automobile,” he stated. “I knew I didn’t do nothing unsuitable. I used to be actually simply scared,” Will McNeil Jr. stated.

McNeil was charged with resisting a police officer with out violence, driving with a suspended license, and having lower than 20 grams of marijuana. He pleaded responsible to resisting an officer and driving with a suspended license.

What Will’s Viral Video Exhibits vs. Officer Bodycam Footage

Physique digicam footage of the visitors cease exhibits an officer repeatedly telling McNeil to exit the car. And, although he had his automobile door open earlier whereas speaking with the deputies, he later closed it. The 22-year-old then appeared to maintain it locked for about three minutes till the officers forcibly eliminated him, the bodycam video exhibits. The vantage level of the launched physique digicam footage makes it tough to see the punches cops reportedly threw at McNeil’s physique. Watch the physique cam footage beginning at mark 06:40 beneath. 

In the meantime, the cellphone footage from the Feb. 19 arrest exhibits that seconds earlier than Officer D. Bowers dragged McNeil outdoors, McNeil had his palms up and didn’t seem like resisting. He additionally requested, “What’s your cause?” He had pulled over and had been accused of not having his headlights on, despite the fact that it was daytime, his legal professionals stated. On Wednesday, Legal professional Crump stated his consumer had each proper to ask why he was being pulled over and to ask for a supervisor.

Jacksonville Arrest Report Missed & Added Particulars Not Seen In Incident Movies

Footage of the violent arrest has sparked nationwide outrage. In an earlier assertion, Ben Crump stated:

“Crump added that their consumer was attacked for exercising his rights. Within the assertion, he wrote, “It needs to be apparent to anybody watching this video that William McNeil wasn’t a risk to anybody. He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights, they usually beat him for it.”

Since then, William McNeil Jr.’s reps have additionally accused the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Workplace of fabricating the 22-year-old’s arrest report. A key level of debate from the police report is a couple of knife. The report claims Will McNeil Jr. was reaching towards an space the place a knife was. Deputies later discovered the knife on the driving force’s aspect floorboard of his automobile after they searched it after taking McNeil into custody.

“The suspect was reaching for the floorboard of the car the place a big knife was sitting,” Officer D. Bowers wrote in his report. “The suspect continued to try to tug away from officers and refused to position his palms behind his again.”

In the meantime, Bowers doesn’t point out any punches being thrown in his report. As an alternative, he describes the power this fashion: “Bodily power was utilized to the suspect and he was taken to the bottom.”

In a separate report, a second officer describes knocking McNeil to the bottom by grabbing his legs and driving his shoulders into him. Then, he delivered six closed-fist punches to the hamstring of McNeil’s proper thigh, he stated. “After delivering the six closed fist strikes, the topic stopped resisting” and was handcuffed by one other officer, he wrote.