The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says that the involved officer has received a “Written Reprimand Level 1.”<\/p>\n
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 An officer involved in a viral traffic stop arrest has had his law enforcement authority restored, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office says.<\/p>\n
In February 2025,\u00a0William McNeil Jr. was stopped by JSO officers.<\/a> Body camera video shows him being pulled from his car, pinned to the ground and arrested. The video went viral after showing an officer, Officer Donald Bowers, punching McNeil, sparking outrage in Jacksonville and throughout the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n Later in August, the State Attorney’s Office completed an investigation<\/a>, where they ruled that Officer Bowers’ actions were “lawful” and that no charges would be filed. After this was completed, JSO says an internal investigation was made to discover any “potential policy violations.”<\/p>\n While he was exonerated for the administrative charge of Unnecessary Force, the sheriff’s office says that an administrative charge of Failure to Conform to Work Standards for Officer Bowers was sustained as they claim that he “failed to include the initial strike to Mr. McNeil in his Response to Resistance report.”<\/p>\n JSO states that Bowers had been issued a Written Reprimand Level 1<\/a>, and due to the investigation being complete, his law enforcement authority has been restored.<\/p>\n