Student who suffered horror injuries after being punched by police speaks out on ordeal

A student who was punched and dragged from his car by police during a traffic stop suffered concussion and a broken tooth which pierced his lip, it has emerged.

William McNeil Jr, 22, yesterday spoke publicly of the ordeal the first time following the violent arrest, which sparked outrage across the US. His family's lawyers believe race may have played a part in the way Mr McNeil, a biology student at university, was treated.

"That day I just really wanted to know why I was getting pulled over and why I needed to step out of the car. I knew I didn't do nothing wrong. I was really just scared," Mr McNeil said during a press conference in Jacksonville, Florida.

Police's internal investigation continues but a separate probe by the State Attorney's Office cleared the officers of any criminal wrongdoing, a finding fiercely criticiced by Mr McNeil's lawyers.

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Footage shows from the student's car-mounted camera shows him sitting in the driver's seat, asking to speak to the Jacksonville officers' supervisor, when they broke his window, punched him in the face, pulled him from the vehicle and punched him again. He was then knocked to the ground by an officer, who delivered six closed-fist punches to the hamstring of his right thigh, police reports show.

Speaking at the press briefing yesterday, civil rights lawyer Ben Crump said his client had every right to ask why he was being pulled over and to ask for a supervisor. Addressing the public, he added: "America, we're better than this, we're at a crossroads... We are a Democracy, we believe in the Constitution. We are not a police state where the police can do anything they want to citizens without any accountability.

"What he (Mr McNeil) exhibited was a 21st century Rosa Parks moment where an African American had the audacity to say 'I deserve equal justice under the law. I deserve to be treated like a human being with all the respect that a human being is entitled to.'"

But Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis yesterday defended law enforcement officers and implied the video was merely posted on social media to advance a "narrative" and generate attention.

"That’s what happens in so many of these things," Mr DeSantis said. "There’s a rush to judgment. There’s a, there’s a desire to try to get views and clicks by creating division.”

Mr DeSantis said he hasn't reviewed the viral video but has "every confidence" in Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, who has urged the public not to cast judgement based on the footage alone. Mr DeSantis continued: "If people get out of line, he’s going to hold them accountable."