Civil rights attorneys are questioning the justification for a traffic stop that led to the arrest of a Black man, alleging racial bias in the police department’s practices. The attorneys, including Ben Crump, claim that the use of headlights during daylight hours in inclement weather, even when not strictly necessary, is being employed as a pretext to stop Black drivers. Crump’s team has reportedly found that out of 78 motorists cited for driving without headlights in Jacksonville over the past three years, 63 were Black.
A key point of contention highlighted in the police report is the assertion that the arrested individual, identified as McNeil, reached towards a part of the car where a knife was later discovered during a search. Officer D. Bowers stated in his report that McNeil was reaching for the floorboard where a large knife was located.However, Crump contends that video evidence shows McNeil did not reach for anything, and a second officer’s report indicated McNeil kept his hands up as the window was smashed.
Civil Rights Lawyers Allege Withholding of Footage
In addition to questioning the initial stop, civil rights lawyers have accused the sheriff’s office of selectively releasing body-worn camera footage. Crump stated that the sheriff released video from only some officers at the scene, suggesting an attempt to “explain away what happened.” He expressed concern that other existing videos have not been made public and that not all officers involved in drawing their weapons may have been captured in the released footage.
The sheriff’s office released arrest footage from two officers’ body cameras, which show at least five officers in close proximity to McNeil as he was removed from the car and handcuffed. Footage from a third officer was also released, but it reportedly only shows the search of mcneil’s vehicle after his apprehension. the released bodycam videos make it difficult to clearly discern the punches and strikes, and also what transpired when McNeil was on the ground, due to the close proximity of the cameras to the events.Some actions were also outside the frame of these cameras, leading to incomplete capture of the incident. Crump also alleged that McNeil’s head was repeatedly slammed onto the concrete even after he was handcuffed.
Following his arrest, McNeil pleaded guilty to charges of resisting an officer without violence and driving with a suspended license. The State Attorney’s Office concluded that the officers did not violate any criminal laws, according to the sheriff. An internal sheriff’s investigation is currently underway.
McNeil is a biology major and a member of the marching band at Livingstone College, a historically Black Christian college. the arrest occurred in February, but gained wider attention after video from McNeil’s car-mounted camera went viral this month.