Hands up, still beaten: Viral video exposes police attack on black student

William McNeil Jr., 22, a Black college student and biology major at Livingstone College, was violently removed and assaulted by Jacksonville sheriff’s deputies during a routine traffic stop on February 19, 2025.

The incident drew national attention only after McNeil’s own cellphone video went viral in July 2025, triggering internal investigations and widespread condemnation.

McNeil was stopped in Jacksonville around 4:15 p.m., allegedly for driving without headlights and not wearing a seatbelt.

He questions the justification, asking to speak with a supervisor and refusing to exit the vehicle. In response, deputies smashed the driver’s side window, punched him in the face, pulled him from the car, and continued striking him while he lay on the ground.

McNeil’s video clearly shows him with raised hands before the aggressive escalation. At no point does he reach for a weapon. Officers later claimed he reached for a knife found on the floorboard, but neither the dashcam nor bodycam footage supports this assertion.

McNeil sustained severe physical injuries: a concussion, a chipped tooth that pierced his lip requiring stitches, memory loss, nightmares, and trauma symptoms consistent with PTSD. He said at a Jacksonville news conference: “That day I just really wanted to know why I was getting pulled over … I was really just scared.”

Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters announced both administrative and criminal reviews of the officers' conduct. Officer D. Bowers, identified as the deputy who broke the window and delivered the punch, was stripped of his law enforcement authority pending the outcome of an internal policy investigation. Nonetheless, the State Attorney's Office ultimately cleared all officers of criminal charges, stating no laws were violated.

Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels, representing McNeil, denounced the incident as a “classic case of driving while Black” and demanded the immediate termination of Officer Bowers and full transparency from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. They plan to file a federal civil rights lawsuit and urge the U.S. Department of Justice to open an independent probe.

The case has ignited nationwide outrage over police violence toward Black Americans. Critics say the officers’ actions reflect ongoing systemic racism and underscore the dangers faced by Black drivers during even minor encounters with law enforcement. Activists stress that without consequences for such incidents, fear and distrust of police among communities of color will continue.