Man punched by Florida cop in viral video is NC college student
William McNeil Jr., who was assaulted by Jacksonville, Florida, police officers during a traffic stop, attends Livingstone College in Salisbury.
He is a biology major there and member of the Blue Thunder Marching Band.
Livingstone College is a private, historically Black college that was founded in 1879 located in Salisbury’s West End neighborhood.
The 22-year-old was pulled over by police from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in February, and he recorded the interaction. Video has gone viral over the weekend.
The Associated Press reported that video filmed by McNeil’s camera shows him sitting in the driver’s seat, asking to speak to the Jacksonville officers’ supervisor, when they broke his window, punched him in the face, pulled him from the vehicle and punched him again. He was then knocked to the ground by an officer who delivered six closed-fist punches to the hamstring of his right thigh, police reports show, according to the AP.
Body camera footage shows McNeil address Officer Donald Bowers with his door open. McNeil tells the officers his window is broken and asks for the reason he was pulled over. Bowers tells him it is because he didn’t have his headlight on in inclement weather and was not wearing a seat belt. However, the self-recorded video showed an officer unbuckle McNeil before removing him from the vehicle.
“The entire Blue Bear Nation stands behind and beside Will who is fighting for his, and all of our, civil rights to be protected from police brutality,” Anthony Davis, Livingstone College president, said in a statement Wednesday. “On Feb. 19, Will’s rights were violated but he showed restraint, he showed resolve, and he showed resilience. That is the Blue Bear Way.”
“Will demonstrates his humanity to his fellow students and the community as a formal and informal volunteer, going out of his way to mentor and even help students who need minor car repairs, finding a little corner with a shade tree to get his peers back on the road,” the college’s statement said. “He even spent time helping to enhance air quality in our residence halls alongside our maintenance crew.”
McNeil has retained representation from civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump.
“What happened to William McNeil Jr. is a disturbing reminder that even the most basic rights — like asking why you’ve been pulled over — can be met with violence for Black Americans. William was calm and compliant. Yet instead of answers, he got his window smashed and was punched in the face, all over a questionable claim about headlights in broad daylight,” Crump Law’s legal team said in a statement.
This story was originally published July 24, 2025 at 3:13 PM.
