New data from the Duval Clerk of Courts reveals Black drivers have been disproportionately ticketed by JSO for one of the reasons behind the controversial traffic stop and arrest of William McNeil Jr.
That arrest sparked outrage after cell phone video of McNeil being struck by an officer during the February traffic stop went viral.
Attorneys representing McNeil have repeatedly argued racial bias played a role in his traffic stop.
“This is about driving while Black,” said McNeil’s attorney Ben Crump during a press conference last week.
The official reason given for the stop was driving without a seatbelt and driving without headlights on in inclement weather, though McNeil’s attorneys have pointed out it didn’t appear to be raining at the time of the stop.
Now, data reviewed by Action News Jax from the Duval Clerk of Courts shows at least one of those citations has been used disproportionately to ticket Black drivers.
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Since 2021, of the 79 citations written by JSO for driving without headlights in inclement weather, 64.5 percent were issued to Black drivers.
Black drivers made up just 37.5 percent of the eight citations issued by other police agencies in the county during that same timeframe.
Meanwhile, Black residents account for just about 30 percent of the county’s overall population.
“Obviously, it would be very powerful for a jury to hear that there was very systemic profiling that was going on,” said local defense attorney Chris Carson.
Carson noted those numbers could come into play during a potential lawsuit against JSO.
But he cautioned against jumping to conclusions or interpreting the data as concrete evidence of systemic racial bias at the agency.
“You just kind of have to be careful when you’re dealing with very small sample sizes because those don’t always totally reflect what’s going on there. I mean, it may suggest it, but as far as the big picture goes, it may not be totally accurate,” said Carson.
JSO has repeatedly highlighted the tens of thousands of traffic stops conducted by the agency each year that go without incident.
Sheriff T.K. Waters has also pointed the finger at McNeil for escalating the situation by refusing to get out of the car when told to do so by officers.
Sheriff Waters recently rejected any suggestion the agency targets Black residents during his press conference last Monday.
“I wouldn’t work here if we’re after Black men or Black people period,” said Waters.
Along with the citations for driving without headlights on in inclement weather, Action News Jax also obtained a list of more than 20,500 citations for seatbelt violations.
We’ll also be digging through that data to try an identify any racial trends in traffic stops and tickets.
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