William McNeil Jr. wasn’t committing any offense that could even remotely warrant the way he was treated by a band of bloodthirsty “blue lives” in the perpetually janky state of Florida. BOSSIP previously reported on the viral video that captured the internet’s attention several weeks ago, showing McNeil being assaulted and having his car window smashed by police officer D. Bowers.
The traumatic incident has taken both a physical and a mental toll on McNeil Jr., and his family has been hopeful that Officer Bowers would be held accountable for his gross misconduct. However, as we mentioned, Florida is forever janky.
According to ABC News, prosecutors have announced via a 16-page memo that Bowers will face no criminal charges for his violent arrest of an unarmed Black man.
“The State Attorney’s Office has reviewed this matter to determine whether any of Officer [D.] Bowers’ actions constitute a crime. We conclude they do not,” the memo stated.
“Officer Bowers conducted a lawful traffic stop and gave McNeil 12 individual lawful commands, which McNeil refused to obey. Repeatedly requesting a supervisor and arguing the merits of the traffic stop did not absolve McNeil from following lawful orders,” the memo continues. “McNeil’s refusal to provide his identification, registration, and proof of insurance, followed by his refusal to exit the SUV, show his hands, and obey the officers’ orders, created a dangerous situation for all involved.”
The only “dangerous” people involved in this incident were Bowers and his fellow officers, who did nothing to de-escalate the situation.
Ubiquitous civil rights attorney Ben Crump and family lawyer Harry Daniels released a joint statement in response to the inflammatory announcement that Bowers will be allowed to walk away from this case scot-free.
“Frankly, we expected nothing less especially after Sheriff Waters announced their conclusions more than three weeks before the report was issued,” the statement said. “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.”
We will be watching closely how the Department of Justice under Donald Trump handles this case, as they have shown an outright refusal to take these types of blatant cases seriously.