A video recording of the February 2025 traffic stop and arrest of a 22-year-old African-American man named William McNeil Jr. is going viral following its release to the public. The roughly two-minute-long video is disturbing, as it appears to capture McNeil being brutalized by police officers.
In the clip, McNeil sits in his car and talks to a cop outside his passenger window. He says, “When he pulled me over, he walked up, I opened my door because my window don’t work, right? And then I said, ‘So what I did wrong?’ He said, ‘Well, for one, your headlights are off under this weather.’ I’m like, ‘There’s multiple people with headlights off, first of all, and then there’s no rain.’”
The cop he’s speaking to then replies, “It doesn’t matter. You’re still required to have headlights on.”
McNeil then responds, “Can you pull that law up?”
“Yeah, when you step out of the car, I will,” the officer says.
McNeil then requests the officer call his supervisor, at which point, the officer gives the order to have McNeil’s window smashed. Another cop reaches through the broken glass and punches McNeil, who is not fighting back and has his hands visible, in the face. He’s then ripped from his vehicle, punched by several officers, and wrestled to the ground.
It certainly appears like disproportionate force was used on McNeil.
However, another video has begun to circulate, and it radically alters the narrative. Sara Gonzales contrasts McNeil’s video with the much longer police bodycam footage of the incident.
Before McNeil began recording his own video of his window being smashed and his forcible removal from his vehicle, he had already been interacting with police for several minutes.
Police footage captures McNeil with his door open asking the officer why he’s been pulled over. The officer, keeping at a distance, asks McNeil why his door is open, to which McNeil explains that his window doesn’t work. After the officer informs McNeil that he’s been stopped for not using headlights in inclement weather and for not wearing his seat belt, he asks McNeil for his license, registration, and proof of insurance.
McNeil, however, boldly says, “No, call your supervisor.”
The officer then tells McNeil to “step out of the vehicle.” Again, McNeil says no and then proceeds to slam and lock his door.
At that point, the officer tells McNeil that he’s under arrest for resisting. “Sir, this is your last warning to open the vehicle and exit before we are going to break the window,” he says.
McNeil refuses, and the officer warns him six more times that his window will be broken if he doesn’t exit his vehicle. McNeil never complies, at which point the order is given for his window to be broken.
Reports also indicate that McNeil was driving with a suspended license, was in possession of marijuana at the time of his arrest, and reached for a large knife when officers opened his door.
To hear Sara’s commentary and analysis on the incident, watch the episode above.
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