25 July 2025

Offered without comment...


Excerpt from a transcript of the July 23 As It Happens podcast from the CBC:
[Acey Rowe, host]: You may have seen the cellphone video -- a Black man in Jacksonville, Florida is punched in the face, pulled from his car and beaten by police during a traffic stop. This follows an exchange where he repeatedly asks the officers why he's been pulled over and asks to speak to a supervisor, as they demand he leave the car. His name is William McNeil Jr. and today the 22-year-old college student spoke about what happened to him -- as his lawyers demand accountability. Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, however, urged people not to rush to judgement. He says the cellphone video, quote, "does not comprehensively capture the circumstances." Unquote. Mr. McNeil was with his parents and their lawyer, Ben Crump, when he spoke to reporters today. Here's what they had to say, beginning with his mother Latoya Solomon.

SOUNDCLIP

LATOYA SOLOMON: The day I seen that video, I couldn't finish it past the window breaking. It wasn't until maybe a few months ago I finally finished the whole video. But I'm thankful to God for protecting him, because I know what the outcome could have been. But I believe in faith in God is protected my only son.

ALTON SOLOMON: Morning. I'm Alton Solomon, the father, stepfather. But I can't call him my stepson, because this is my son. I've been through what he's been through. To see that video made me go back to the moment when I was 22. It hurt. It made me upset. But I've seen what my son did that I had to do, and he sat right, and he did right. To see that, [deep breathing] it's a hurting feeling to be a father that loved God first. And to see all my kids not being able to wake up in the morning, get my phone call saying your child is gone. That's a hurting feeling, but I thank God. Because God got him.

BEN CRUMP: William's just gonna make a few remarks. And keep this family in prayer, because as his mother and father both said, they knew he could have been the next hashtag. It could have a different result had he not kept his demeanour.

WILLIAM MCNEIL JR.: First of all, I want to thank God for bringing everybody here together. And thank y'all for supporting me. That day, I just really wanted to know, you know, why I was getting pulled over, and why I needed to step out of the car when I knew I didn't do nothing wrong. I was really just scared. Yeah, that's it.

1 comment:

  1. Police pulled him over because his headlights were off during "inclement weather," lol. Yes, he gave them lip and slammed the door, but as an initial matter it was pretty obviously a DWB violation.

    ReplyDelete

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