ANKARA

Authorities in Jacksonville, Florida, have launched an investigation after a video surfaced showing a police officer breaking a car window and punching a Black driver during a traffic stop on Feb. 19, media reports said on Wednesday.

The video, posted on Sunday by 22-year-old William McNeil Jr., shows an officer telling him he was stopped because his headlights were off, according to NBC News.

McNeil responds that others also had their lights off and requests a supervisor.

The video then shows an officer breaking the window, ordering him to exit, and hitting him in the face.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said Monday that it is investigating the incident, but the State Attorney's Office concluded that none of the officers broke the law.

The sheriff's office has initiated both criminal and administrative reviews.

At a Tuesday news conference, McNeil said: “I just really wanted to know why I was getting pulled over and why I needed to step out of the car. I was really just scared.”

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing McNeil, called it “a classic case of driving while Black.”

Crump urged the sheriff to fire the officer responsible, stating: “We have audio, visual evidence, proof of what happened.

McNeil, a scholarship student at Livingstone College in North Carolina, suffered a chipped tooth, lip injuries requiring stitches, a concussion, and short-term memory loss.

Sheriff T.K. Waters released bodycam footage Monday and said it “does not comprehensively capture the circumstances.”

He added that Officer D. Bowers, who has been relieved of duty, acted under Florida law, which requires compliance with officers' commands.

The arrest report stated McNeil refused to provide documents, prompting officers to forcibly remove him after he allegedly reached toward a large knife on the floorboard.

McNeil was charged with marijuana possession, resisting an officer without violence, and driving on a suspended license.

He pleaded guilty to two charges.

Crump denied the claims, saying McNeil “never reaches for anything” and was wearing a seatbelt in his video.

“The narrative in this report isn’t just suspicious. It is completely divorced from reality,” he said.

Recent incidents across the US this month have reignited concerns about police use of force against unarmed civilians, particularly during routine encounters.

In Alabama, the family of Phillip Reeder alleged that an officer fatally knelt on his neck for several minutes as he pleaded: “I can’t breathe.”

In Oregon, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were filmed smashing a car window during a preschool arrest, raising alarm about aggressive tactics in family settings.

Additional footage from Cincinnati showed officers using force against protesters at an anti-ICE demonstration.

These cases have drawn national scrutiny and renewed calls for accountability in the US law enforcement system.