JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Black-led Jacksonville grassroots organization that says it was created to fight for justice and liberation is calling for the State Attorney’s Office to reopen its investigation into the police officers involved in the viral February traffic stop of Will McNeil Jr.
The incident, captured on cellphone video and shared widely online, shows Officer Bowers using force on William McNeil Jr., 22, after McNeil refused commands to exit his vehicle during a February stop. The footage has reignited concerns about police brutality and transparency in officer-involved incidents.
Sheriff T.K. Waters said the State Attorney’s Office had previously reviewed the incident and determined Officer Bowers did not break any criminal laws. However, Waters acknowledged the officer may have violated JSO policy, and an internal investigation is ongoing.
“It seems like a lot of these officers are cleared so quickly without any public transparency at all,” said Monique Sampson, a spokesperson for the Jacksonville Community Action Committee. “We just want Melissa Nelson to do the right thing, especially with Will McNeil.”
During a recent press conference, Sheriff Waters questioned why McNeil waited months to release the video. Sampson, however, pushed back.
“It’s enraging to hear Sheriff Waters say, ‘Why didn’t he come forward earlier?’ The question should be, ‘Why did your officers commit such a brutal act in broad daylight, and why didn’t you act on the body camera footage from February? Why did you not investigate earlier? It’s kind of putting the onus on the victim instead of the people that did the brutalizing of the victim and broad daylight caught on video.’” she said.
Critics also point to the fact that Sheriff Waters’ wife works at the State Attorney’s Office. During a radio interview last week on WJCT’s First Coast Connect, Waters said his wife is a director of investigators but is not involved in decision-making for this case.
Still, community groups argue that the relationship could create the appearance of a conflict of interest.
“If we were to brutally assault someone on the job, we would likely be fired immediately and then charged with assault,” Sampson said. “The police are also not above the law.”
JCAC said it will hold a demonstration outside the State Attorney’s Office (311 W. Monroe St.) on Saturday, Aug. 2, calling for justice for McNeil and for “all victims of police terror,” while also advocating for an end to excessive force.
“The people of Jacksonville condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms,“ JCAC said. ”The violence escalating from a minor traffic stop is unacceptable and represents a gross abuse of power and a fundamental betrayal of public trust. There is no justification for the level of force used against anybody.”
JCAC also listed four specific demands for their campaign that will be brought up at the demonstration, which are:
- The release of the names of all officers involved and the termination of Officer D.J Bowers and others involved in violence against Mr. McNeil Jr. by Sheriff T.K. Waters
- State Attorney Melissa Nelson to reopen the criminal investigation into Officer D.J Bowers and the criminal actions of those involved
- The creation of a civilian oversight board with JSO through a Public Safety Committee via Executive Order by Mayor Donna Deegan
- No additional funding to JSO and money from policing going toward the community
The campaign, which appears to have been created two days ago, currently has 965 signatures, just short of its goal of 1,000 signatures.
“It’s time to take a stand today for William McNeil Jr, Charles Faggart, Justin Knight, and so many countless other victims of police brutality in Jacksonville,” JCAC said.
The announcement of the demonstration comes one day after McNeil’s attorneys, Ben Crump and Harry Daniels held a news conference in Chicago, highlighting an angle of the body-camera footage released by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office that showed an officer pointing a gun at McNeil at one point during the traffic stop.
“We knew that we were going to have to provide irrefutable evidence, because the sheriff’s department was silent on that,” Crump said. “They only released videos that they didn’t try to corroborate, and that tried to explain away what happened. But because we have a good legal team working... It is clear. It is clear that William McNeil Jr. was not lying when he said the police had him at gunpoint.”