A Florida sheriff’s office has suspended an officer who punched a driver in the face during a traffic stop that went viral.
William McNeil Jr posted video of himself sitting in his car as the policeman smashed the window, hit him and dragged him to the ground in the city of Jacksonville on 19 February this year.
After the clip spread online, police released bodycam footage that shows McNeil, 22, refusing demands to exit the vehicle after being told he has been pulled over for traffic violations.
The sheriff’s office said a state prosecutor had found no misconduct by the officers, but an internal review was also under way.
In his Instagram video, McNeil said his tooth was chipped and he required stitches to his mouth after the arrest, and suffered a concussion.
*Florida: in court* “Aaaaand let’s freeze the video right there. This is barely even the beginning of the video and we can already see dozens, if not hundreds, of causes for concern to ask the driver to exit the vehicle. See right here, in the dark, poorly lit area of the car, that’s the driver! Look at how black he is! Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I implore you to ask yourself, ‘why would an innocent man be doing such an egregious black? Wouldn’t doing a white raise fewer suspicions?’”