This cop move is right out of the victim-blaming handbook—and it's appalling
“We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality.” — The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Aug. 28, 1963
As galling as it has been to watch a Jacksonville sheriff’s deputy break a car window and punch a non-combative man in the face, the feeble justification from the sheriff and a determination from the state attorney that cops did nothing wrong is just as infuriating.
The Feb. 19 videotape of an encounter with William McNeil, Jr. and a posse of rogue officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and their brutal response, is a searing reminder of everything wrong with policing in America.
These officers appear to have forgotten that they are supposed to “protect and serve” the communities they police. Rather than being respectful in their dealings with members of the community, too many times, those in uniform operate as if the people work for them. Because of their mindset, they operate as an occupying force that has to subdue a hostile populace.
In a recent press conference held to react to a videotape that captured the police assault of McNeil, Sheriff T.K. Waters was defensive. He refused to condemn his officers’ egregious behavior and, in a move right out of the victim-blaming handbook, had the temerity to question why McNeil released the video five months after the incident and concluded that he intended to inflame the public.
Waters was probably embarrassed because his men look like neanderthals who escalated a situation for no reason other than to show who was in control. I’m glad that the confrontation did not end with McNeil shot, injured, maybe dying on the street, because a cop “feared for his life.” This happens much more frequently than we are willing to admit.
Troubled relationship
The relationship between African Americans and law enforcement has always been fraught with suspicion and hostility. America has never come to terms with policing’s slave origins and racially troubling past, their earlier role in controlling the movements of enslaved African Americans and the current role of monitoring the movements and activities of Black people, the poor, and working class.
The American Bar Association discusses the deep ties between chattel slavery and American law enforcement.
“American policing has deep historical roots in the system of slavery, with early forms of law enforcement in the Southern states, known as slave patrols, established to control enslaved populations and maintain the institution of slavery. These patrols were authorized to enforce slave codes, apprehend escaped slaves, and suppress potential revolts, using methods of terror and violence.
Waters claims there’s more to the story than the cellphone video that went viral. The sheriff warned against “a rush to judgment,” but McNeil’s lawyers, famed civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump and Harry Daniels, said the video captures a clear and compelling case of police brutality.
“He didn’t do anything but suffered tremendously. He suffered very significant injuries, including memory loss and closed head injuries,” said Daniels. “We’re seeking justice and legal redress. We’re planning on filing a lawsuit and doing everything to achieve justice in this matter.
“The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is unhinged. We’re pursuing all actions to achieve accountability and responsibility for what these rogue cops did.”
Daniels told News4JAX that McNeil’s injuries included a chipped tooth and concussion, adding that he needed stitches.
“This is one of these days that we have echoed over and over that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is out of control. This is not a one-off. This is a systematic continuum of assault on folk in Jacksonville,”
‘Things we need to look at’
The police report of the traffic stop said McNeil was ‘verbally combative’ and reached towards a knife that was in the vehicle. Waters said McNeil was charged with resisting an officer without violence, driving on a suspended license, and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana.
When asked by a reporter about the first punch that a cop standing by the door threw, Waters said it wasn’t a sucker punch.
“I’m not excusing it administratively. There are things we need to look at. The context of this video should tell you everything you need to know. It is what it is,” Waters said during the press conference. The video “provides a lot of information to the public. You’re not allowed to resist a police officer when he’s doing his lawful duties. It’s necessary to get you under control and take you into custody.”
According to ABC News, “in the video, officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office say they pulled McNeil over because the vehicle’s headlights were not on. McNeil questioned the traffic stop because it wasn’t raining and it was still light outside.
“An officer, who cannot be seen in the video, is heard saying, ‘It doesn’t matter, you’re still required to have headlights on.’ An officer asks McNeil to step out of the car, and when McNeil asks for the officer’s supervisor, another officer punches the driver’s window until it shatters. The officer then punches McNeil in the head before unlocking the vehicle door, unbuckling his seatbelt and forcibly removing him from the driver’s seat.
“Once out of the vehicle, multiple officers then gather around McNeil. One officer is seen grabbing McNeil’s head and punching him in the chin before forcing him to the ground.
Unenviable task
Daniels wrote in a news release on Sunday that this incident is “only the latest in a long line of excessive force incidents involving the JSO.”
“In September 2023, the department was the focus of a national outcry after a video of JSO officers violently beating 24-year-old Le’Keian Woods while he was unarmed went viral,” Daniels explained. “In 2019, JSO officers faced a federal lawsuit for killing 22-year-old Jamee Johnson after pulling him over for an alleged seat belt violation,” the attorney said.
It’s clear that if there were no video, Sheriff Waters would have leaned on the fact that an internal “investigation” cleared the officers involved.
Waters explained that he was “aware of a video circulating on social media showing a traffic stop represented to be from February 19, 2025. … We have launched an internal investigation into it and the circumstances surrounding this incident. We hold our officers to the highest standards and are committed to thoroughly determining exactly what occurred.”
Yeah, right.
Waters, police brass, and civic leaders have the unenviable task of rebuilding public trust. But we shouldn’t hold our breaths because we’ve seen this before. There is a critical need for oversight by the public and civil society to investigate and prosecute cases of racial profiling and widespread abuses of power including use of excessive force, brutalizing protesters, bystanders, and others exercising their constitutional right to free speech and dissent.
But that is not happening.
Clear and present danger
Law enforcement in the 18,000 police departments and across history in America has proven to be a clear and present danger to African Americans, Native Americans, Latinos, and other non-white people. Given DeSantis’ his record, and past comments, Floridians shouldn’t be holding their breath for him to use the considerable power entrusted in him to attempt to level the playing field and hold law enforcement more accountable.
Asking law enforcement to police itself is like inviting wolves into the henhouse. It never ends well.
I interviewed retired Seattle Washington Police Chief Norm Stamper, a fierce critic of modern American policing, and he was clear about what’s needed.
Stamper argues that what the United States needs is to “reimagine a public safety system that has armed professionals working with citizens.”
“There is a way of imagining and constructing a system with a commitment to genuine partners — the community and elected officials,” he said. “We need to see it as a 50-50 partnership. Others who have a stake would help create a new system with [police] unions ceding and sharing power.”
That reform includes bringing an end to racial profiling, excessive force, police brutality, corruption, and other law enforcement problems.
The epidemic of police violence in this country is not an issue of “bad apples.” Modern policing is rotten at its core. This must change now. Real change will come when we make meaningful changes to how police are funded.
Stamper, author of two books on good policing, has been a persistent and vocal critic of existing police tactics and the way departments interact with Black communities. “The entire criminal justice system and policing is broken,” he said.
‘Tainted and toxic’
Stamper describes America’s police departments as “tainted and toxic,” institution, saying the way officers act is a function not just of the culture, but also the power they wield, which makes them feel as if they can do what they want with no consequences. It is that attitude — and the deadly consequences particularly for African Americans — that has so angered protesters.
“It’s an arrogance that afflicts too many officers,” he said. “It causes them to believe that they’re above the law. What we’re facing from institutions in Seattle, San Diego, the NYPD, is an undercurrent of racism and abusive practices that lead to excessive force, lethal force, and sexual predation.”
Stamper said resistance from police unions and rank-and-file officers has hampered the radical restructuring of public safety.
“The public safety mechanism must be reliable, effective, and aligned constitutionally. I think that we must have the capacity to fight violent crimes, but we have to hold individuals accountable,” he said.
Donald Trump greets John Roberts at the U.S. Capitol. Win McNamee/Pool via REUTERS 