VIRAL video showing black man brutalized by police ignites outrage, but bodycam footage tells a different story

Avideo recording of the February 2025 traffic stop and arrest of a 22-year-old African-American man named William McNeil Jr. is going viral following its release to the public. The roughly two-minute-long video is disturbing, as it appears to capture McNeil being brutalized by police officers.

{snip}

The cop he’s speaking to then replies, “It doesn’t matter. You’re still required to have headlights on.”

McNeil then responds, “Can you pull that law up?”

“Yeah, when you step out of the car, I will,” the officer says.

{snip}

Before McNeil began recording his own video of his window being smashed and his forcible removal from his vehicle, he had already been interacting with police for several minutes.

Police footage captures McNeil with his door open asking the officer why he’s been pulled over. The officer, keeping at a distance, asks McNeil why his door is open, to which McNeil explains that his window doesn’t work. After the officer informs McNeil that he’s been stopped for not using headlights in inclement weather and for not wearing his seat belt, he asks McNeil for his license, registration, and proof of insurance.

At that point, the officer tells McNeil that he’s under arrest for resisting. “Sir, this is your last warning to open the vehicle and exit before we are going to break the window,” he says.

{snip}

Reports also indicate that McNeil was driving with a suspended license, was in possession of marijuana at the time of his arrest, and reached for a large knife when officers opened his door.