JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Wednesday he has not watched the viral traffic stop video that shows an officer with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office punching and dragging 22-year-old Will McNeil Jr. out of his car.
DeSantis was asked about the February video during a news conference at Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, and said that he’ll “maybe” review it at some point. However, he added that from what he has heard, “it seems like it is trying to create a narrative.”
“I haven’t seen it, but I heard that it was debunked. I heard that. What I heard was that this was out there. There was a narrative that was done, and then JSO provided the context, and things were a lot different,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis also said he is confident that Sheriff T.K. Waters will “hold them [the officers] accountable” if he finds that they did not meet the agency’s standards.
“I kind of heard about it, then I heard the response, and I’m like, yeah, that kind of checks out to me without even knowing any of the facts. I just know how this stuff works,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis’ thoughts on the viral video came on the same day McNeil, his parents and his attorneys spoke out publicly during a news conference at St. Paul Church of Jacksonville.
“I just really wanted to know why I was getting pulled over and I needed to step out the car,” McNeil Jr. said. “I know I didn’t do nothing wrong. I was really just scared,” McNeil said on Wednesday.
In a news conference on Monday, Waters said the State Attorney’s Office reviewed the incident and determined the officers’ actions did not violate criminal law.
However, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said on Wednesday the SAO “has not had any contact” with McNeil following the early Sunday morning release of the video.
“That’s a problem because they saw the video too,” Crump said. “I’m sure there’s a protocol [that] anytime you have a use-of-force engagement that somebody should review the body-cam video. That’s why taxpayers pay for body-cam videos, so we can make sure that police are following policies and the law.”
JSO Officer D.J. Bowers, who was seen breaking a car window and hitting McNeil after pulling him over for not having his headlights, is under review by the agency to determine if he violated policy.
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Bowers was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the administrative investigation.