JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Fraternal Order of Police shared a statement on Thursday responding to the viral traffic stop involving officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and 22-year-old Will McNeil Jr.
The FOP addressed the traffic stop, in which McNeil was punched and dragged out of his car by a JSO officer, and said “it could have all been avoided” if he had complied with the officer’s commands.
“The incident in question was a routine traffic stop that Mr. McNeil chose to escalate,” the FOP wrote. “Because of his actions, the stop quickly turned from a traffic violation to a case of resisting arrest.”
The FOP’s statement came a day after McNeil, his family and his attorneys spoke at a news conference to demand accountability from JSO.
“I just really wanted to know why I was getting pulled over and I needed to step out the car,” McNeil Jr. said. “I know I didn’t do nothing wrong. I was really just scared.”
According to his arrest report, McNeil was stopped by Officer D.J. Bowers because his headlights were not on during inclement weather. However, both the viral video and the bodycam footage released by JSO show that it was daylight, and no rain is visible in either video.
After McNeil’s news conference, JSO released a statement on social media, saying in part that the agency would not be providing any further comment regarding the video.
“Our agency has publicly released body-worn camera footage pertaining to this matter, and I provided a briefing on the status of the investigation earlier this week. This publicly shared information is currently available on all JSO’s social media platforms and our transparency portal. However, in anticipation of litigation, our agency will not speak further on this matter,” JSO’s statement says in part.
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In a news conference on Monday, Waters said the State Attorney’s Office reviewed the incident and determined the officers’ actions did not violate criminal law.
However, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said on Wednesday the SAO “has not had any contact” with McNeil following the early Sunday morning release of the February video.
Bowers was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of JSO’s internal investigation.
Read the full statement from the Jacksonville FOP below:
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