Viral Video Of Man Punched By Florida Officer In During Traffic Stop Has Press Conference With Ben Crump

The man who was the subject of a violent arrest in a viral video is speaking out about the disturbing incident. William McNeal Jr. held a press conference with his family, attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels, and additional advocates, to explain his perspective. The traumatic video showed McNeal being punched by a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer during a traffic stop before being removed from his vehicle and arrested.

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NEW: Jacksonville police officer "stripped of his duties" after a video went viral of him punching a man in the face at a traffic stop.

The incident took place back in February but recently gained traction after the man, William McNeil Jr., shared the footage.

McNeil Jr., 22… pic.twitter.com/ImVgmX9RO0

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 22, 2025

The press conference was livestreamed by local news station Action News Jax. According to ABC News, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters confirmed that “the State Attorney’s Office has determined that none of the involved officers violated criminal law,” and that the traffic stop is now under  “administrative review,” which will determine if the deputies “violated JSO policy.” The officer who struck McNeil was identified as D. Bowers and stripped of his duties. pending the completion of the review. “McNeil was arrested and pled guilty to resisting a police officer without violence,” Waters said. “Force absolutely looks ugly, and because all force is ugly, whether or not the officer involved acted within outside JSO policy, that’s still what we’re investigating.” “I will neither defend nor commend Officer Bowers’ response to resistance until all the facts are known and the investigation is completed,” Waters exclaimed.

𝐀 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐅𝐑𝐎𝐌 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐕𝐈𝐋𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐅𝐅’𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄
We are aware of a video circulating on social media showing a traffic stop represented to be from February 19, 2025. We have launched an internal investigation into it and the… pic.twitter.com/P5xiZl9HyI

— Jax Sheriff's Office (@JSOPIO) July 20, 2025

Source: Vibe