'I feared for my life': Man punched in viral Jacksonville traffic stop speaks out on violent arrest
William McNeil, Jr., the 22-year-old man whose violent arrest by Jacksonville, Florida, sheriff's deputies was caught in a viral video, reflected on the incident in an interview with ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis on Wednesday.
"I don't drive anymore," he said. "Just because I don't trust cops, anymore. I'm still scared. I can't get sleep at night because of trauma. I have flashbacks and nightmares."
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said on Sunday that the agency launched an investigation into the incident after the 2-minute cellphone video captured by McNeil went viral. On Monday, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters also released body camera footage from two deputies who were present on the scene of the arrest.
In the video, sheriff's deputies are seen beating and punching McNeil during the traffic stop after he repeatedly questioned why he was being pulled over and refused to exit his vehicle.
"I feared for my life," McNeil told Davis when asked why he didn't get out of the car.
"I was scared, frightened. I grew up being told that officers protect us, but that wasn't the case," he added.
The deputy who broke McNeil's window and punched him was identified by the sheriff as D. Bowers.
Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday, one of McNeil's attorneys, Ben Crump, called for the firing of the deputy who punched McNeil during the incident.
"If you don't terminate this officer and you condone this type of police excessive force, then it sends a message to all of the other police officers on the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office team. It tells them, it is OK for you to treat citizens like this, it is okay to treat Black motorists like this," Crump said. "In America, it is not OK."
"I will neither defend nor commend officer Bowers' response to resistance until all the facts are known and the investigation is completed," Waters said.
"Pending the outcome of this administrative review, Officer Bowers has been stripped of his law enforcement authority," Waters added. It is unclear if other deputies involved in the arrest have been placed on administrative leave.
It is unclear if Bowers has retained an attorney. ABC News has reached out to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for further comment, but has not heard back.
Waters also announced on Monday that "the State Attorney's Office has determined that none of the involved officers violated criminal law," but highlighted that the deputies' actions are now being examined in an "administrative review," which will determine if the deputies "violated [Jacksonville Sheriff's Office] policy."
ABC News has reached out to the Office of the State Attorney for the Fourth Judicial Circuit serving Clay, Duval and Nassau Counties for further comment.
Attorney Harry Daniels, who also represents McNeil, told ABC News that his client suffered "significant" injuries, including memory loss and a concussion, and plans to file a lawsuit.
"We're going to take legal action. We're going to pursue a civil complaint in this matter in the upcoming weeks," Daniels said in the ABC News interview, adding that the legal team will also request that the U.S. Department of Justice review this case.
Asked what justice looks like for him, "McNeil said, "fighting for what's right, better training for our officers and better officers."
"The outcome that we are hoping to see is justice," he said. "You know, justice for all Black men, you know, across America, across the world."
McNeil's interview with ABC News came after he spoke out publicly for the first time about the incident during a press conference on Wednesday morning, alongside his attorneys and his parents.
McNeil's mother, Latoya Solomon, said during the press conference that watching the video was emotionally difficult for her and it took her months to watch it in its entirety.
"I'm thankful to God for protecting him, because I know what the outcome could have been," Solomon said
His stepfather, Alton Solomon, was visibly emotional while reflecting on the incident.
"To see that video made me go back to the moment when I was 22. It hurt," he said.
McNeil is a student at Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina, where he is majoring in Biology. He is also the leader of the marching band.
Attorney Gerald Riggs, who also represents McNeil, said during the press conference that Black families all give their children the "talk" about how to deal with law enforcement and he said that McNeil "mastered the talk."
Asked what he was taught while growing up about dealing with law enforcement , McNeil said, "Basically, what I was taught is to instead of fighting them on the street where we don't have power, fight them in the courts."
