As national criticism grows over a viral video showing a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) officer slapping and punching a young Black driver, Jacksonville City Council members, who control the agency’s funding,

William McNeil talks about the fear he experienced during the Feb. 19, Florida traffic stop that led to his assault.

Civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels said 22-year-old William McNeil hired them after a video from a February traffic stop went viral.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office alleges William McNeil Jr., 22, was reaching for a knife during the traffic stop before officers used force.

William McNeil is speaking out for the first time after the violent traffic stop in Florida that he recorded. The video shows police smashing his window and punching him in the face.

William McNeil Jr., a 22-year-old Black man, was pulled over by Jacksonville officer D. Bowers in February. McNeil used his phone to capture footage of the traffic stop, which went viral this month on social media.

Attorneys for William McNeil Jr., 22, say he’ll be joined by family and community members for a news conference Wednesday morning.

A cellphone video shows a Jacksonville sheriff's officer punching a Black man in the face during a traffic stop in February.