A video has recently gone viral showing a police officer punching a Black man during a traffic stop that happened in February.
In response, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has started an internal investigation to review the officer's actions.
The video was made public on July 20 by the lawyer of a Black driver, named William McNeil Jr., which quickly raised serious concerns about how the police handled the situation.
Afterwards, a police officers was also removed from active duty as of Monday.
The two-minute video shows McNeil calmly asking the police why they pulled him over. He points out constantly that it's daytime and questions why having headlights on is important.
In response, one of the officers breaks his car window, tells him twice to get out of the car and then punches him in the face.
McNeil showed his hands, stayed seated and repeatedly asked for a reason for the stop while appearing calm.
Another officer then opens his car door, unbuckle his seatbelt and pulls him out of the vehicle while the same officer who broke the window punched him again, even after he was on the ground.
According to the report by PEOPLE, arrest report says that McNeil was driving in poor weather conditions without using headlights or wearing a seatbelt.
The police further claimed he was uncooperative from the beginning, refusing to show ID, locking the car door and not following instructions to get out of the car.
The reports further revealed that marijuana and a large knife were found in the car and it alleged that McNeil tried to reach for the knife as officers were pulling him out of the vehicle.
On the other hand, McNeil's attorney Harry Daniels said when McNeil was hit by the officer, the blow was so strong that his tooth pierced through his lips which needed several stitches.
He also chipped a tooth, suffered a concussion, a type of brain injury and is now dealing with short-term memory.
Beside this, McNeil was convicted of two offences, one for resisting police officer without any physical force and one for driving while his license was suspended.
However, the other charges such as possessing drugs, not wearing seatbelt and driving without headlights were dropped and did not lead to any legal punishment.
