A.G. Gancarski
A headlight violation led to a violent confrontation between a Jacksonville man and the Sheriff’s Office (JSO), and a state Senator wants answers.
“When something like this happens in my district, it feels personal to me,” said Jacksonville Democratic Sen. Tracie Davis.
“Jacksonville is full of good people who just want to feel safe when they leave their homes. Everyone deserves to feel safe during a routine traffic stop, regardless of their background, neighborhood, or identity. What I saw in this video is deeply troubling, and it raises serious concerns about the use of force and how our officers conduct routine traffic stops.”
The driver, William McNeil, was pulled over in February during the day for not having headlights on. It was not raining and the sun was out. He was punched and forcibly subdued after not cooperating with the traffic stop.
Davis believes a “full, transparent investigation into this use of excessive force and how officers conduct routine traffic stops remains critical to preserving trust between law enforcement and the community.”
“With the release of the body-worn camera footage and Sheriff TK Waters’ public remarks, it is now more important than ever that the process continues with integrity and accountability. I remain committed to working alongside community members and local leadership to ensure our public safety systems operate with fairness, transparency, and respect,” she added.
Waters believes “the cell phone camera footage that began viral circulation over the weekend does not comprehensively capture the circumstances surrounding the incident” and that “the cell phone camera did not capture the events that preceded Officer (D.J.) Bowers’ decision to arrest McNeil.”
“Moreover, cameras can only capture what can be seen and heard. So much context and depth are absent from recorded footage because a camera simply cannot capture what is known to the people depicted in it,” he added.
Gov. Ron DeSantis agrees with the Sheriff, even though he hasn’t watched the video yet.
“I haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard that it was debunked,” DeSantis said. “There was a narrative that was done, and then JSO provided the context, and things were a lot different.”
McNeil has hired civil rights lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels. With high-powered legal help like that, this story won’t disappear from the public consciousness anytime soon.
7 comments
Sunrise Sam
July 24, 2025 at 5:50 pm
Dear Sen Davis,
The guy was resisting arrest. Of course he has been watching Ben Crump’s tutorials on how to score a cool million by defying the police. My dad told me years ago to be respectful and follow police instructions. If not I deserve to get my ass kicked. So simple.
Frankie M.
July 24, 2025 at 6:03 pm
Every white person ever says the same thing. Just do what the police tell you. The problem for a certain segment of society is complying with a police officer’s instructions is no guarantee of safety. Not to mention this same segment of society is more likely to be pulled over on pretextual traffic stops (like daytime headlights and seatbelt infractions) due to racial profiling. I believe Mr. McNeil will be independently wealthy very soon and the police will be using his cell phone video as a training tool for what not to do during a traffic stop when a suspect is not complying with instructions without force.
MH/Duuuval
July 24, 2025 at 11:18 pm
TK wants to make violence a prerequisite that must be tolerated by citizens in ordeer to bring about law and order.
Gratuitous violence — sucker punching the driver through a broken window — was not necessary to the arrest. Once the car window was broken, police had access to the door lock and there were at least three of them who could have pulled the nonviolent offender out of the car. (And when they did pull him out, the cop who sucker punched him then went after him again.)
The JSO officer in question washed out of Marine Corps basic training, Peachy the Patriot, what are citizens to make of that?
It’s disappointing that the SAO had no problem with the gratuitous violence.
Sunrise Sam
July 25, 2025 at 6:25 am
Just imagined what would have happened if the kid would have complied with the officers instructions in the first place. Maybe a citation. That’s it. No had to be an uncooperative punk that decided to escalate this traffic stop into a full scale arrest. Trying to look tough to his homies I guess. Street cred? Now comes Ben Crump looking for the payout. Ridiculous.
MH/Duuuval
July 25, 2025 at 9:59 am
So, Pete, Peachy gets two comments but not others?
Orlando Oscar
July 25, 2025 at 1:48 pm
Peachy makes sense. Chest cameras have exposed those that don’t comply, resist, fight, and run from the police. Have to ask what these kids parents tech their kids in regards to the law. It appears this is all about street cred in that culture.
It's Complicated
July 25, 2025 at 11:33 am
The LEO body cams paint a different picture of this event. The post-window break punch appears uncalled for, but jumping back in the car and locking the door invited this trouble.