{"id":96197,"date":"2025-07-27T07:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-27T07:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/96197\/"},"modified":"2025-07-27T07:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-27T07:53:09","slug":"florida-police-punch-male-driver-called-disturbing-by-jacksonville-mayor-donna-deegan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/96197\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida police punch male driver called disturbing by Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The mayor of a\u00a0Florida\u00a0city where a viral video was recorded showing an officer punching a male driver<\/a> in the face during a traffic stop has described the incident as disturbing and called on due process to run its course.<\/p>\n

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said she understands the public\u2019s frustration and emphasized she is taking a pragmatic approach to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand the angst,\u201d Deegan told local news outlet\u00a0News4Jax<\/a>. \u201cI understand the upset. I get all of that. But at the end of the day, let\u2019s wait and see where it all goes. Hopefully, there\u2019s a good resolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

The video, which was taken in February, began circulating on social media last week and shows William McNeil Jr. staring at the camera as an officer is seen smashing his driver\u2019s side window and demanding that he get out.<\/p>\n

\u201cExit the vehicle now!\u201d the officer says. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The officer then strikes McNeil in the face before he is dragged out of the car and taken into custody.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0viral\u00a0footage began with McNeil talking to an officer about why he was pulled over, recounting how an officer told him his headlights were off during apparent inclement weather.\u00a0In the bodycam footage released by the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office, McNeil is seen refusing to hand over his license, registration and proof of insurance.<\/p>\n

William McNeil Jr. sits in his car as a Jacksonville Police officer attempts to punch open the window during a traffic stop on Feb. 19, 2025. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

A Jacksonville police officer strikes William McNeil Jr. during the traffic stop. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

McNeil remains in the vehicle\u00a0and the window was eventually smashed.\u00a0Officers said they found a large unsheathed serrated knife on the driver\u2019s side floorboard of McNeil\u2019s\u00a0vehicle. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Deegan said that some people have expressed frustration that she hasn\u2019t expressed more outrage.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am a very pragmatic thinker when it comes to how these things go, and it\u2019s not to diminish whatever happened there, I\u2019m simply saying there has to be an investigative process, Deegan said. \u201cI have faith that that process will be carried out and we\u2019ll see where it goes. But I can\u2019t really say much beyond that because there is a lawsuit that may happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

William McNeil Jr. puts his hands up as police breach his car during the traffic stop. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan after an incident in August 2023. WJXT<\/p>\n

Deegan reminded viewers that Jacksonville has a consolidated government meaning she and the sheriff, Sheriff TK Waters,\u00a0are independently elected and have separate responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is my job to run the city. It is his job to run the\u00a0police department.\u201d<\/p>\n

She credited Waters for releasing the bodycam video and attempting to be transparent, though she stopped short of making judgments.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe shows the video. He shows the bodycam videos. However you feel about this, I think that the sheriff has come out and tried to be as transparent as he can with the process,\u201d Deegan said. \u201cI think that I would just ask people to be a little patient.<\/p>\n

William McNeil Jr. attends a press conference with his attorney Ben Crump on July 23, 2025 in Jacksonville, Florida. AP<\/p>\n

McNeil is detained by police outside his car during the traffic stop. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

Waters said Monday while releasing a\u00a0longer bodycam video<\/a>\u00a0of the incident that he had instructed his agency to immediately began both a criminal and administrative review of the officers\u2019 actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThese administrative reviews are ongoing, but the state attorney\u2019s office has determined that none of the involved officers violated criminal law,\u201d Waters said.<\/p>\n

Attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels announced they are now representing McNeil after the video sparked \u201coutrage across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

They said there was a racial component to the incident, given that McNeil is a Black man and the officers are white.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happened to William McNeil Jr. is a disturbing reminder that even the most basic rights \u2014 like asking why you\u2019ve been pulled over \u2014 can be met with violence for Black Americans,\u201d they\u00a0said in a statement.<\/a>\u00a0\u201cWilliam 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,\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis wasn\u2019t law enforcement, it was brutality. All video from JSO should be released to ensure there is transparency for McNeil and the community. We demand full accountability from the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office and justice for William McNeil Jr.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The mayor of a\u00a0Florida\u00a0city where a viral video was recorded showing an officer punching a male driver in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":96198,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,63298,3188,723,7310,5705,7207,57900,63299,67,586,132,5230,68,1154,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-96197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-cops-using-extreme-force","10":"tag-fl","11":"tag-florida","12":"tag-jacksonville","13":"tag-mayors","14":"tag-police","15":"tag-police-brutality","16":"tag-traffic-cops","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-united-states-of-america","19":"tag-unitedstates","20":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","21":"tag-us","22":"tag-us-news","23":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114924120362652168","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96198"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}