A federal lawsuit filed in Jacksonville on Wednesday alleges that 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 earlier this year.
The complaint names William McNeil as the plaintiff and names Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, Officer D. Bowers, Officer D. Miller, the City of Jacksonville and Duval County as defendants. McNeil’s attorneys, including nationally known civil rights lawyer Ben Crump and Harry Daniels, said the officers’ conduct — captured in a cellphone video that went viral this summer — amounted to an unconstitutional and excessive use of force and reflected broader policies that allow racial profiling without accountability.
The video, recorded during a traffic stop in February, shows a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officer punching and dragging McNeil from his vehicle. Prosecutors with the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida concluded in August that the officer’s conduct did not rise to the level of a crime and announced they would take no criminal action. McNeil’s lawyers have contested that finding and formally asked the U.S. Department of Justice to open its own investigation into what they described as “excessive force” and “systemic failures” by Jacksonville officials.
According to the prosecutors’ investigative report, Bowers stopped McNeil after observing his SUV parked outside a house the officer was surveilling for suspected drug activity and for failing to turn on headlights and buckle a seatbelt. The report says McNeil requested a supervisor and that, based on body‑worn camera footage, interviews with officers and statements by McNeil, Bowers issued about a dozen lawful commands that McNeil disobeyed. Prosecutors said their review did not establish criminal wrongdoing by the officers.
McNeil’s attorneys dispute the officers’ account of events. They allege the video and other evidence show McNeil remained calm while officers escalated the encounter. In the lawsuit, his lawyers say McNeil suffered a laceration to the chin and lip, a fractured tooth and has been diagnosed with an ongoing traumatic brain injury. They also allege he experiences post‑traumatic stress disorder‑like symptoms, including nightmares and flashbacks.
Crump said the incident recalled earlier periods of the civil rights movement when Black people who asserted their rights were met with violence. "It’s an unjustifiable, unnecessary and most importantly unconstitutional use of force," he said. The legal filing seeks compensatory and punitive damages and aims to change policing practices in the Jacksonville area, the attorneys said.
Sheriff Waters, who is Black, has publicly said the cellphone footage from inside the vehicle "does not comprehensively capture the circumstances surrounding the incident" and has asserted there is more to the story than the viral clip. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation.
The lawsuit frames the episode within debates over law enforcement accountability and racial profiling that have prompted calls for federal oversight in other jurisdictions. McNeil’s legal team is asking federal authorities to examine whether local practices and training contributed to the incident and to determine whether civil rights laws were violated.
The case follows a broader pattern in which high‑profile videos of police interactions spur public outcry and legal action even when local prosecutors decline to bring charges. Civil suits can pursue damages and changes to department policies and training even when criminal liability is not established.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville. It remains pending, and the defendants have not filed responses to the complaint. A Department of Justice spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. McNeil’s attorneys said they will press for discovery and seek reforms aimed at preventing similar incidents in the future.