Will William McNeil Jr. finally receive justice? New calls for a Department of Justice investigation have renewed hope that he might.
Last month, the state attorney’s office in Florida said it would take “no further action” against the deputy with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office who repeatedly punched the Black college student after breaking his car window and dragging him from his vehicle, which was captured in a viral video. On Sunday, famed civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and Ben Crump, who represent McNeil, sent a request to the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the incident to determine whether the 22-year-old’s rights were violated.
According to the Tampa Free Press, Crump and Daniels sent the request they authored to the Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, asking the DOJ to determine if McNeil’s civil rights were violated under 18 U.S. Code § 242.
In a press release, Crump’s office claimed “McNeil sustained multiple injuries from the assault including lacerations to the chin and lip, a fractured tooth and a clinically diagnosed traumatic brain injury after JSO Officers struck him multiple times in the face and body and forcefully slammed his head to the pavement while he was unarmed and posed no threat,” describing the stop conducted by JSO Officer Donald Bowers that took place on Feb. 19…