The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) has released body-worn camera footage and a detailed arrest report following a February 19, 2025, traffic stop involving William Anthony McNeil Jr., whose viral cellphone video showed officers breaking his window and forcibly removing him from his SUV.
According to the arrest report, Officer Bowers initiated the stop after observing McNeil driving without headlights or taillights in inclement weather and not wearing a seatbelt. McNeil allegedly refused to provide his driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance when asked.
In the body-worn camera footage released by the Sheriff’s Office, Officer Bowers can be heard asking McNeil for his identification. When McNeil refuses, Bowers tells him to step out of the vehicle. Instead, McNeil closes the car door and locks himself inside.
JSO states that after McNeil locked himself in, he continued to ignore “several warnings” before the window was broken. Officers were unaware that McNeil had been recording the encounter on his phone. In the two-minute clip that went viral, McNeil can be seen questioning the stop and asking, “What is your reason?” after being told to exit the vehicle. The video captures an officer breaking the window, ordering him out, and then striking McNeil in the face.
According to the report, although McNeil complied with the command to show his hands, he did not exit the vehicle. One officer then opened the door, unbuckled McNeil’s seatbelt, and pulled him out while another struck him as he continued to resist; and a third shouted, “Stop fighting.” Officers later found marijuana and a large knife on the driver’s side floorboard, which McNeil allegedly reached for during the struggle.
McNeil’s attorney, Harry Daniels, said the incident should be viewed in the broader context of how police interact with young Black men. “It is not uncommon for young African American men to be afraid of the police when they encounter us, considering the history of what’s happening in this country and what’s happened in recent years with police encounters,” Daniels said. This is a common excuse used to justify not complying with clear verbal commands from officers.
Sheriff T.K. Waters addressed the public reaction to the cellphone footage, saying, “The cell camera footage that went viral does not comprehensibly capture the circumstances surrounding this incident. And that is to be expected. Part of that stems from the distance and perspective of the recording, another part of it stems from the fact that the cell phone camera did not capture the events that preceded Officer Bowers’ decision to arrest McNeil. Moreover, cameras can only capture what is seen and heard, but concept and depth is missing. […] When incomplete cell phone footage becomes the basis for public opinion, the results can be faulty. A rush to judgment can lead to flawed conclusions.”
Sheriff T.K. Waters announced that after learning about the viral video on Sunday, July 20, he launched both a criminal and administrative review of the officer’s actions. On Monday, July 21, JSO released the full bodycam footage. Waters said that the officers involved have been exonerated by the State Attorney’s Office, but the investigation continues.
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