TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville law enforcement officers violated the civil rights of a 22-year-old Black college student when they pulled him from his car and beat him during a traffic stop, according to a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Jacksonville on Wednesday.
A video showing a Jacksonville Sheriff’s officer punching and dragging William McNeil from his car during a stop in February went viral online this summer and sparked nationwide outrage.
Prosecutors announced in August they would take no action after determining the conduct of Officer D. Bowers of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office did not constitute a crime, according to an investigative report released by the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida.
McNeil’s attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels say Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s policies allow officers to engage in racial profiling and “illegal or excessive use of force” without fear of consequences. Crump is a Black civil rights attorney who has gained national prominence representing victims of police brutality and vigilante violence.
“It’s an unjustifiable, unnecessary and most importantly unconstitutional use of force,” Crump said.
