JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Fourth Judicial Circuit of the Florida State Attorney’s Office released an investigative memo Wednesday into the now-viral traffic stop of a Jacksonville man in February. 

Cell phone video released by William McNeil Jr. in July showed a traffic stop from Feb. 19, 2025.

In the video, officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office say they pulled McNeil over because the vehicle’s headlights were not on. McNeil questioned the traffic stop because it wasn’t raining and it was still light outside.

An officer, who cannot be seen in the video, is heard saying, “It doesn’t matter, you’re still required to have headlights on.”

An officer asks McNeil to step out of the car, and when McNeil asks for the officer’s supervisor, another officer punches the driver’s window until it shatters. The officer then punches McNeil in the head before unlocking the vehicle door, unbuckling his seatbelt and forcibly removing him from the driver’s seat.

Once out of the vehicle, multiple officers then gather around McNeil. One officer is seen grabbing McNeil’s head and punching him in the chin before forcing him to the ground.

Wednesday, the State Attorney’s Office released an investigative memo into the case amid growing calls from citizens for accountability at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

The report says McNeil’s car was observed to be parked at a house on West Palm Avenue on Feb. 19 that was actively being monitored for drug activity, according to an interview with Bowers in which he said the area was a known high-narcotics area.

The report states Bowers observed McNeil not wearing a seatbelt and not having his headlights activated, both violations of Florida law. The report did not specify whether there was inclement weather when his headlights were off, which is what JSO has previously said was the reason McNeil was pulled over. 

Additionally, the report references a photo of McNeil not wearing his seatbelt after he was pulled over, to support the assertion that he was pulled over for traffic violations, including not wearing a seatbelt.

Several angles of body-worn camera video released by JSO of the traffic stop show Bowers’ parked police cruiser without his headlights turned on, and several responding officers arriving without their headlights turned on.

According to Florida Statute 316.217, drivers are required to have their headlights on between sunset and sunrise, and during any rain, smoke or fog. 

This Florida statute says law enforcement vehicles can operate without their headlights on during these times if the following conditions apply:

• The operation of the vehicle without headlights is necessary to the performance of law enforcement officers’ duties.
• The law enforcement agency has a written policy authorizing and providing guidelines for vehicle operation without the display of headlights.
• The law enforcement vehicle is operated in compliance with agency policy.
• The operation without the display of headlights can be safely accomplished.

The report then describes the events captured by Bowers’ body-worn camera; Bowers telling McNeil why he stopped him after McNeil asked, then McNeil demanding Bowers call his supervisor while Bowers repeatedly told him to step out of the car. McNeil then slams his door, which Bowers said in a later interview “effectively barricaded” McNeil from him.

As backup officers arrived, Bowers continued to order McNeil out of his car, while McNeil demanded that he call a supervisor.

It’s around this time that McNeil begins to record the viral cellphone video.

Bowers said in an interview with JSO’s Integrity Unit that, while he couldn’t see McNeil’s hands, he saw him reach towards the center console, causing Bowers to tell a responding officer he was about to break the window, striking McNeil in the face and taking him out of the car.

Bowers said that his strike to McNeil’s face while he was still in the car was a “distractionary blow,” designed to distract McNeil so he could take control of him.

Bowers, who did not report this strike in his use-of-force report following the traffic stop, said he did so because he considered the strike to be a “tool” and did not consider it a use of force. The State Attorney’s Office accepted this explanation as credible, considering Bowers’ training as a narcotics officer who uses distracting strikes as a tactic to gain control of a suspect.

First Coast News Crime and Safety expert Mark Baughman explains this tactic.

“It doesn’t look good, but it is a diversionary tactic,” he said. “It shocks them. It did make him lift his hands. It’s not good that police have to use that kind of force, but it does alleviate the officer’s situation.” 

McNeil, who appears to remain still as Bowers broke his window and delivered the strike, was not interviewed by the State Attorney’s Office in the investigation, saying his public appearances during press conferences on July 23 and July 29, as well as a lengthy statement on a GoFundMe, constituted enough information on his version of events for their report.

All established facts in the report stem from the point of view of the responding officers, calling statements from McNeil and his attorneys “assertions.”

The report says McNeil continued arguing with officers by saying “no” as he was being pulled out of the car, and was actively resisting them, although the report does not specify how.

Bowers said during the interview with JSO that he punched McNeil in the face when he was “actively, physically resisting,” but the report again does not specify how he was resisting.

Bowers stated in his response-to-resistance report this punch was used to gain “compliance,” since it took between five to six seconds from the time McNeil was removed from his car to the time he was face-down on the ground.

The State Attorney’s Office said this strike did not constitute a criminal act.

After he was taken into custody, the report states McNeil was searched, and drugs were found on his person, as well as in his car.

In its conclusion, the report states that McNeil was given 12 lawful orders to obey during the traffic stop, which he refused.

“He created a dangerous situation for himself and law enforcement,” the report says. “Officer Bower’s [two strikes to McNeil’s face] were lawful and not subject to criminal prosecution.”

The State Attorney’s Office said it will not pursue further action.

“All those are mitigating factors they tied together in the memorandum to support the ruling. There was nothing did wrong here,” said Baughman.

McNeil’s attorneys released the following statement after the release of the investigative memo:

“The Investigative Memo from the State Attorney’s Office from the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida is little more than an attempt to justify the actions of Officer Bowers and his fellow officers after the fact. Frankly, we expected nothing less especially after Sheriff Waters announced their conclusions more than three weeks before the report was issued. Since they are unwilling to seek justice, we will have to request that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate this incident and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.

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.” 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. Furthermore, they ignored the multiple injuries including a broken tooth, a concussion and multiple stitches caused by the officers’ use of force.

Finally, the memo asks us to ignore our own eyes by accepting the officers’ excuse that Mr. McNeil was reaching for a knife in the floorboard when he is never seen reaching for anything in either the bodycamera video or the video posted on social media. 

The simple fact is that this memo ignores exactly the kind of excessive force and false reporting that resulted in the United States Department of Justice indicting Camden County Sheriff’s Deputy Buck Aldridge. It only further illustrates why use of force cases involving the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office need to be conducted by an independent agency that is not beholden to either the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office or the State’s Attorney.”

You can read the full report here: