Lawyers for William McNeil Jr. Allege Civil Rights Violations and Flaws in Local Investigation
Attorneys for William McNeil Jr., the 22-year-old whose arrest by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) drew national attention, have formally requested that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) open an investigation into the incident.
The request, sent on Sunday, to the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, asks the DOJ to determine if McNeil’s civil rights were violated under 18 U.S. Code § 242.
The letter, authored by civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and Ben Crump, details the events of the traffic stop on February 19, 2025. According to the document, JSO Officer Donald Bowers stopped McNeil on the grounds of driving without headlights and not wearing a seatbelt.
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The attorneys’ letter claims that video evidence contradicts these initial claims, showing McNeil’s seatbelt was fastened and that it was not raining at the time of the stop.
The attorneys allege that the situation escalated after McNeil requested to speak with a supervisor. The letter states that Officer Bowers broke the driver’s side window, struck McNeil in the face, and then, after removing him from the vehicle, struck him again.
The document further alleges that McNeil’s head was forcefully slammed to the pavement, resulting in a clinically diagnosed traumatic brain injury, a fractured tooth, and facial lacerations.
The request to the DOJ follows the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida’s decision on August 13, 2025, not to criminally prosecute Officer Bowers.
The attorneys’ letter criticizes the state’s investigation, noting that it did not include an interview with McNeil and that it overlooked what they call key inconsistencies in Officer Bowers’s report. Specifically, the letter points out that the officer’s “response-to-resistance” form claimed he punched McNeil because he was “attempting to walk away,” a claim the attorneys say is contradicted by video footage.
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In a statement, Attorney Daniels expressed his view that the State Attorney’s Office “refuses to do anything about it,” necessitating the call for a federal investigation. In a separate statement, Attorney Crump stated that the local office’s decision not to hold the officers accountable was “as appalling as the beating itself.”
The letter also cites JSO data from 2022 to 2024, which it says indicates a pattern of low accountability for use-of-force incidents. According to the document, out of 424 investigations into excessive force allegations during that period, only three were upheld.
The attorneys’ letter suggests that this pattern conveys a message to officers that they will not face repercussions for violating use-of-force policies.
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