William McNeil Jr. gained significant attention online last year after a viral video depicted him being assaulted by a police officer during a traffic stop in Jacksonville, Florida. The officer involved, identified as Officer D.J. Bowers, broke McNeil’s car window and struck him in the face without any provocation. Today, we have an update regarding the disciplinary measures taken against Officer Bowers.
According to News4JAX, an internal investigation by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office cleared Officer Bowers of unlawful use of force allegations. However, he received a “written reprimand level 1” for failing to report the physical force used against McNeil in his official report. This reprimand is largely seen as a trivial penalty, yielding no significant consequences for Bowers. He has since returned to regular police duty after being assigned to the Tele-Serv Unit since the incident occurred in July, facing no suspension or pay loss, and no criminal charges are anticipated.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and his colleague Harry Daniels have initiated a federal lawsuit against Officer Bowers and the other officers present during the incident, as well as Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters and the city itself. McNeil suffered multiple injuries including a fractured tooth, a lacerated lip, and is reported to have experienced a clinical brain injury due to the assault.
During the Internal Affairs investigation, Bowers attempted to justify his omission of the punch by describing it as a “distraction strike” that he did not believe constituted a legitimate use of force. Internal Affairs, however, classified this incident as a “policy/work-standards violation.”
We sincerely hope McNeil receives full compensation for the grievous actions of this sheriff’s office.
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