JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Civil rights attorneys Benjamin Crump and Harry Daniels are calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to get involved in the investigation of the man at the center of a viral traffic stop video that shows a Jacksonville police officer striking his face before pulling him from his vehicle.
In a statement released hours after the SAO released its memo, the attorneys say the memo is “little more than an attempt to justify the actions of Officer D.J. Bowers,” while noting that the office’s findings were expected after Sheriff T.K. Waters’ announcement three weeks ago, where he revealed that no criminal charges would be levied upon the officers seen in the video.
The attorneys add that the SAO has still not interviewed William McNeil Jr., even three weeks after Crump called the lack of contact between prosecutors and his client a “problem.”
“Let’s be clear, the State Attorney’s Office never interviewed William McNeil. They did, however, try to excuse the fact that Officer Bowers failed to disclose his unlawful ‘distractionary strike,’“ the statement read, in part. ”They also tried to decriminalize Officer Bowers punching Mr. McNeil outside the vehicle and completely failed to mention the officers slamming Mr. McNeil’s face into the asphalt while he was under control and in custody.“
On Wednesday, the SAO released a 16-page investigative report that revealed some new details surrounding McNeil’s arrest.
Full report can be found below
According to the report, Bowers stopped McNeil for traffic violations, including driving without headlights in inclement weather and not wearing a seat belt. However, new information in the report revealed that the stop came after McNeil was seen parked at a house that was under active surveillance for drug activity just after 4 p.m. on Feb. 19 on West Palm Avenue.
The report also stated that Bowers used two instances of physical force, an “open-hand strike” and a punch, to gain compliance during McNeil’s arrest, which the office said served a “legitimate tactical purpose” to get McNeil out of the SUV and to show his hands, which McNeil did after the strike.
Furthermore, Bowers’ arrest report for McNeil did not mention the first strike to the face. When asked why he did not report the hit in his Response to Resistance report, Bowers explained he considered his use of the “distraction strike” as a tool and did not consider it as the deployment of force, according to investigators.
“Officer Bowers’ explanation is credible considering his stated training and the fact that he wrote a Response to Resistance report memorializing his closed fist punch to McNeil,” the report says.
The SAO said it confirmed this technique is taught in the Defensive Tactics curriculum at the Northeast Florida Criminal Justice Training and Education Center, also known as the “Academy.”
Bowers was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal JSO investigation, and it wasn’t immediately clear when or if he would be reinstated.
The entire report from the State Attorney’s Office can be read here.
