Officer actions at traffic stop of William McNeil Jr. did not constitute crime: SAO Memo

"At the July 23 and July 29 press conferences, false statements were made, and critical facts were omitted. Specifically, it was stated that officers held McNeil at gunpoint for a mere traffic infraction.18 This is false. It was after McNeil was under arrest and while officers were attempting to take him into custody, that an officer drew his firearm to provide lethal cover for the other officers."

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.