A video that captured the brutal arrest of a Black college student pulled from his car and beaten by officers in Florida has led to an investigation and calls for motorists to consider protecting themselves by placing a camera inside their vehicles.
The footage shows that William McNeil Jr., 22, was sitting in the driver’s seat, asking to speak to the Jacksonville deputies’ supervisor, when authorities broke his window, punched him in the face, pulled him from the vehicle, punched him again and threw him to the ground.
So they didn’t have probable cause, he politely asked to speak to a supervisors. There was no risk of him fleeing nor danger to himself or others. He just didn’t comply with what seems like an illegal order. You think that’s grounds to escalate? Grounds for police brutality? And it looks like pretty solid evidence they lied on the arrest report.
And you’re comparing it to a case where there was probable cause for the stop, where no one disputes the basic facts, no one claims police excessive force, and the only question was whether the evidence was admissible?
Whether or not they have probable cause is a matter for the courts. Polite or not, you’re dealing with individuals who have little to no oversight and even if they do something illegal they often don’t have to answer for it. The moment to insist on probable cause and reasoning is afterwards. Let them rack up their bill first.