Overview

• The viral cellphone footage shows Officer D. Bowers smashing William McNeil Jr.’s window and punching him in the head after McNeil questioned a daylight headlights violation during a February stop.
• Sheriff T.K. Waters announced on July 22 that Bowers has been stripped of his law enforcement duties pending the outcome of an internal probe into the use of force.
• McNeil, who sustained a chipped tooth, facial lacerations and a concussion, has hired civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels to explore potential legal claims.
• Duval County court records indicate McNeil pleaded guilty to resisting without violence and driving on a suspended license while headlight and seatbelt citations were dismissed.
• The sheriff’s office is reviewing body-camera, dash-cam and cellphone footage to resolve conflicting accounts between the police report and the civilian recording.