JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2014 The first hit to 22-year-old William McNeil Jr\u2019s face during his controversial traffic stop and arrest in February is notably absent from any police reports filed about the incident.<\/p>\n
The open-handed blow delivered by JSO Officer Daniel Bowers is clearly visible in the cell phone video shot on McNeil\u2019s phone, but it can\u2019t be seen on the police body cam video.<\/p>\n
WATCH:<\/b> Jacksonville Sheriff releases officer body-cam video from viral traffic stop video<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n On Monday, just days following the release of the footage shot on McNeil\u2019s phone, Sheriff T.K. Waters announced Bowers has been stripped of his policing authority pending the results of an ongoing internal investigation.<\/p>\n He suggested if McNeil had filed an official complaint, the agency would have looked into the arrest earlier.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d have been all over it had that been the case, but he did not,\u201d said Waters during the Monday press conference.<\/p>\n Despite clear mention of a second hit to McNeil\u2019s face during the struggle that ensued after he was pulled from his car by officers, there is no mention of the initial smack he received from Officer Bowers on the arrest report Bowers wrote.<\/p>\n There is also no mention of the smack in the incident report or the response to resisting report approved by JSO supervisors after the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cI can imagine that they had no reason to believe that there was any misconduct. They do now,\u201d said Professor Daniel Kennedy with the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.<\/p>\n Kennedy said he believes Officer Bowers\u2019 initial hit to McNeil\u2019s face could qualify as criminal battery.<\/p>\n But the State Attorney\u2019s Office determined Bowers had not committed a crime within days of McNeil\u2019s arrest video going viral.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear whether the State Attorney considered that video during its review or if it solely relied on the official reports.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd frankly, I think they probably should have interviewed the young man that was involved as well. If you\u2019re investigating a potential crime, then the potential witness or the potential victim has a right to be heard,\u201d said Kennedy.<\/p>\n [DOWNLOAD: <\/b>Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks<\/b><\/a>]<\/b><\/p>\n McNeil was told by officers he was under arrest for resisting and was commanded to step out of the vehicle several times leading up to the smack.<\/p>\n FOP Lodge 5-30 President Randy Reaves argued the smack thrown by Bowers is a technique sometimes used by officers in situations where a suspect has to be pulled from a vehicle.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve got to put your head and torso in that vehicle and when you do that you are vulnerable. So, distraction techniques are used and one of them is the open hand shove to the face,\u201d said Reaves.<\/p>\n In both of Bowers\u2019 reports, he also claims McNeil had reached for a knife found on the floor of his car.<\/p>\n But that detail is not included in the other response to resistance report filed by a second responding officer.<\/p>\n Video available of the incident also does not seem to show McNeil making any clear reach towards the car floor.<\/p>\n When asked about that detail, Sheriff T.K. Waters suggested it is possible officer Bowers witnessed something that was not visible in the available footage of the arrest.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not trying this case in front of the public. I\u2019m trying to give the public the information in context of what happened,\u201d said Waters. \u201dNo one saw his hands at that point. Don\u2019t know what happened from there, but that\u2019s part of the investigative process.\u201d<\/p>\n While Reaves could not comment directly on this case, he told Action News Jax if an internal investigation determines an officer intentionally omitted or skewed details in an official report, that could be cause for discipline.<\/p>\n \u201cThey would have to find that out. They would find that out through the evidence and also find that out through interviews and that\u2019s just all part of the process,\u201d said Reaves.<\/p>\n Action News Jax has reached out to the State Attorney\u2019s Office asking whether it reviewed McNeil\u2019s cell phone video when determining whether the responding officers violated criminal law.<\/p>\n We\u2019re still waiting to hear back.<\/p>\n As a result of the February arrest, McNeil was charged with several offenses including marijuana possession, resisting without violence, and driving with a suspended license.<\/p>\n He was adjudicated guilty for the resisting and suspended license charges, but the other charges were dropped.<\/p>\n Since releasing the footage of his arrest, McNeil has retained high-profile civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels.<\/a><\/p>\n The legal team is planning a press conference Wednesday morning to address recent developments in the case.<\/p>\n