Public sentiment is characterized by outrage and condemnation towards the police for their use of excessive force during a traffic stop, particularly highlighting issues of systemic racism and accountability. While some comments suggest that the driver's non-compliance may have exacerbated the situation, the majority express deep concerns over police brutality and the treatment of Black individuals.

Florida Police Department

Law Enforcement Authorities

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Post is locked, Comments are being selected at random, if a poster has no post history on /r/jacksonville they are being banned and reported to reddit admin for brigading.

DieTheVillain

[deleted]

The body camera is not placed anywhere helpful. The cop seems to know that you can't see his hands through it and that's why he was comfortable punching the driver in the face. We wouldn't know about the punching without the drivers camera. It's probably intentional.

YakCDaddy

DiscoMothra

tmclean242

The use of force is clearly excessive. Once they broke the window, there was absolutely no need to punch the driver. He was clearly taking out his frustration for the driver not cooperating.

ilovehumidity

Crazy that it took 5 months for this to finally be investigated.

TonyG_from_NYC

You can write to the president and request federal intervention https://whitehouse.gov/contact 

This police department in Jacksonville has a long history of this kind of problem and it’s clear nothing is being done to fix it

garbage-lord

If this is the same Donald Bowers from Mandarin high class of 04, I knew him personally back in school. Dude used the N word constantly in high school and got suspended for setting a trashcan on fire after he was flicking lit matches on people from the second floor. He also sucked at tuba and couldn't remember the marching halftime shows for shit. Bullied some fat kid named brad

fndr7625

I'll keep spreading this around, the officer that socked him is officer D. Bowers. You can't assault someone for not following orders. I think he pictured hitting this dude in the face while breaking the window and thought he could get away with it. These guys tossed the phone in the body cam footage.

petebradford

WaverlyWubs

Man some of these comments.. makes me ashamed to share the same country with these fucking bigots, holy shit. But be the first ones to dress like us, love our women, and copy our culture. I dont care what color the victim is, THIS IS WRONG.

DieselP33

dont resist and follow instructions ... is not hard

ian_blake

It’s not illegal to drive without headlights on when it’s cloudy in Florida. It has to be raining, foggy, or smoky (or some other event where view is obstructed). Regardless, not a reason to punch the fuck out of someone.

It IS illegal to drive without a seatbelt. But, his windows are tinted and there’s no way the cop would’ve seen that. Idk if he wore the seatbelt the whole time or put it on before he started recording his video. I don’t care either way because that’s not the main reason the cop gave for pulling him over. Regardless, not a reason to punch the fuck out of someone.

It is not illegal to own a knife in Florida. The driver also held his hands up or kept them in view the entire time. At no point did he reach for anything which can be seen in all of the videos that have been released. Owning a knife is not a reason to punch the fuck out of someone.

It is legal to possess medical marijuana, illegal for recreational marijuana. The cops wouldn’t have known he had either until they searched him, so that clearly wasn’t the reason for the stop. Again, possessing some herb is not a reason to punch the fuck out of someone.

Lastly, his license was suspended. But, guess what? STILL not the main reason given for the stop and STILL not a reason to assault someone.

And if you’re an adult who has lived in this country, particularly the south, but you still can’t understand corruption and racism in law enforcement… then your opinion means absolutely nothing.

I expect nothing more than “we looked into this and we were absolutely right to beat that man” as a finding to this “investigation”.

According-Pen-927

The so-called constitutional sheriffs of Florida are out of control. They are dangerous men totally drunk on power. They lie, they manipulate, they threaten us, they cover up, and now, this constant use of near lethal force all across the state executed with full immunity. These sheriff’s departments have more tanks and military weapons than most military bases. Add a moronic governor on top of this and it doesn’t bode well for Florida. Free state of Florida?

fish1960

Shouldn't have resisted. Ohhh noooo he's a victim! 🫠

Sheepdog77

Fuck Jacksonville PD!!! That was excessive force, hitting that man was uncalled for…even if he wasn’t following commands it doesn’t give the 🐷 a right to hit people!!! They want respect but don’t show any…and they wonder why people distrust and dislike them!!

OverParamedic3518

KuramaYojinbo

Careful- our bootlicking mod might find this opinion too aggressive

SuckItEasy718

By reading these comments, it’s clear that dude tried to use Reddit logic on how to handle an interaction with the police. He escalated the situation, classic FAFO.

Lopsided_Tour_6661

https://youtu.be/yghchAzeexw?si=t4i3YL61KrFwLZlQ

Odd_Clue7170

Strange how the cops didn’t have their headlights on

ZombieQueen666

Listen... watch the police body cams!! He got what he got PERIOD!!

TKs wife Robin works for the State Attorney's Office as an Investigator. 🤔🤔🤔🤔

Few-Cicada-6245

So, I’m all down for being respectful and follow instructions from cops. But being pulled over for those reasons seems stupid as fuck. Like I get the driver was not being compliant, but it’s broad daylight, there’s no rain, he wasn’t speeding, wasn’t under the influence, and just asked for a supervisor. This is abuse of force, there’s no other way to spin it.

nsel56

Hard to watch. All those saying “ why doesn’t he just comply”, he was pulled over for not having in headlights on in the daytime? Also they are punching him when he isn’t resisting? Hard to watch . Also probably the 20th or so post of this. 

Even harder to watch is the chief of police , whom is also black saying the use of force was legit during a press conference. Yikes.

paveclaw


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ElonsPenis

The guy was punched twice while his hands were down and not attempting to fight the police. The police do not get to punch people just because they're mad.

Ben_Thar

This happened months ago. His accusations of police brutality happened months ago. 

They are only taking action now because of the *attention*  

Film pigs now, always and forever. 

They've been getting away with this shit for hundreds of years. Stop it whenever you can. They see us as the enemy. It's time we return the favor.

kingtacticool

Those fuckers said he wasn't wearing a seat belt ?? Im dying lol.

He has a seat belt in the video. And the video was at 4 pm, and it wasn't raining. Wipers are not engaged.This shit is comical and very pathetic.

Adexavus

I honestly don't know how that young man stayed so calm. Those cops deserve to go to jail for that behavior.

trtsmb

Why not charge and process him for assault? What would happen if a citizen struck an officer like that? Would they be placed on leave too? 

  
Start arresting these motherfuckers, processing them, and letting them sit in jail until a court hearing. That's what you do with anyone else who breaks the law.

braumbles

I wonder what jurisdiction the union will get him reassigned too.

VacationConstant8980

"STOP FIGHTING" they scream, as the man stands there, doing nothing.

OverEncumbered486

He needs to be stripped of his job, blacklisted from working in any law enforcement and this guy needs to take legal action on all of them involved. This is what should happen for any and all police that get caught doing stuff like this.

OldeSaltyBeard

These pigs sure do love having temper tantrums

IslandBoyardee

On those rare occasions when the Officers are held accountable, the financial penalties come out of the City's General Fund. 

 Not out of the Police budget, not out of the Police Union.  Until those institutions are held accountable, they have no incentive to change.

Jaime-Starr

Uberslaughter

I’m just glad there’s not a review board for this it has to be civilian videos bc the cops will cover it up every time.  It’s why there is no such thing as a good cop

stevesuede

JSO has a lot of 'splaining to do.

It's been like this for a LONG TIME. It gets swept under the rug. Keep the light on it.  
Change happens when we band together.

CapricornDragon666

Due-CriticismNachos

Consistent_Ad_6195

Can we think about how much money, time, and hassle this man has to endure to fight to have these charges removed...Pay to fix his window....JFC.

tpaw202dm

drizzle933

The driver committed the most grievous crime a black man can while driving in the old confederacy.  Car lights not properly illuminated in broad daylight. /s

bonzoboy2000

Think about all the shit that went down before people were able to record it and post it live

PhuckNorris69

thenumbwalker

Why is he still employed?

Yes, the black guy was an idiot, but he was not violent. He was assaulted.

adfuel

The old you did not do what we told you to do fast enough.  Cops are only here to protect White people that were on the mayflower.

BetsRduke

What’s up with all these Uncle Toms doing nothing?

EcstaticTill9444

https://preview.redd.it/adbcrkytpnef1.jpeg?width=1080&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp&amp;s=557acbfae95de745c041cf83579670aa83f93c52

hugh-jestickle

Welcome to the south where every colored person is presumed GUILtY before proven innocent. 

Overbearing cops on their high horse “serving and protecting” their own interests. 

It’s a SAD SHAME citizens have to fear LEOs instead of counting on them to be morally upstanding and doing the job as tax payers pay them to do. This is NOT what we pay them to do!

cabo169

The second cop who pulled up also did not have headlights on.

smaxsomeass

That ain’t fired. That’s vacation. It means nothing if they just sweep him under the rug, then transfer him to another precinct.

JJscribbles

Western_Mud8694

You can see it’s not raining and he’s wearing his seat belt.  He never even resisted (note: I did not watch this with sound).  Took some rough shots as well.

sane-asylum

This will be an expensive civil suit for JSO. There may not be criminal charges, but the burden of proof changes in a civil case, and the video is IMO very compelling.

SpeedRacer_1968

They will "investigate" it and find no wrongdoing. At the same time, they will go after the defendant with full force.

GATORinaZ28

PSN-Angryjackal

HotDonnaC

They should charge the pigs with assault. All dude asked was for a supervisor.

huhuhuhhhh

Got to record the police whenever you get stopped. If it wasn't caught on camera they would have fabricated the evidence. Now that young man can and will sue Jacksonville police department and that is the real reason he was stripped of his duties can't hide it.

karemba2

Good. He gives police officers a bad name.

Horsesrgreat

stripped of duties... is that fired for dereliction of duty?  arrested for assault?  fts

damn it, a police officer is nothing w/o securing and holding public trust. not one but all officers suffer.  y'all need to thin blue line your way to professionalism, safety, community, and kindness... not bull shit behavior, hooliganism, and abject authoritarianism.  one like this ruins it for all, why would anyone trust someone with a uniform, badge, and gun? are called when ppl are scared or in need?  you fuck and you fucks that allow it, this isn't your job, or profession... y'all need to shift and go dig ditches or maybe a long walk of a short shoooort pier, for a nice long mind and soul clearing swim.

BWWFC

You will see he will be cleared of all wrongdoing. The victim will have to write a letter of apology to the officer that beat him. 

The only oversight that police have is themselves.

Disastrous-Golf7216

Don't worry guys another situation like this is inevitable.

![gif](giphy|ie76dJeem4xBDcf83e|downsized)

kingssl101

That one cop punches him at the beginning and then punches him again while the other cops are holding him. He should be the one losing his job and paying out of pocket instead of taxpayers.

mudturnspadlocks

When a person needs 10 years to study law in order to practice it, but enforcing it only requires 10 weeks.

SuperMichieeee

Bro took the glass breaking in his face and the punch like a champ.

ThaMidnightOwL

Here’s a news update that doesn’t require SubStack: https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2025/07/20/jso-investigating-after-social-media-video-shows-officers-hit-mans-face-break-car-window-during-feb-traffic-stop/

No_Athlete2752

There’s absolutely no way to justify this and the fact that they try to just continues to prove the absolute incompetence of the police all across the United States.

Affectionate-Permit9

[bodycam for complete context ](https://youtu.be/iOQGXAE-q9o?si=snK2avg37xCt5YaI)

leave_ur_echochamber

The body cam footage isn't the only thing 'corrupt' here...

benthewineguy

Im British, but used to live in America in the 90’s. I fucking loved it over there. It felt like we were riding a tide into the future. 

There was optimism and a feeling things were only going to get better.

Everything changed after 9/11.

I think 9/11, and its consequences: the war on terror, the rise of the right, the economic fall of 2008, all damaged America in a way it will never recover from. 

I would never go back there now. I’m so sad for the world we could have had.

Barnacle-Dull

After watching the whole video … there really doesn’t exist an excuse for the actions of the police. The driver was being argumentative and honestly there is validity to his complaint of being pulled over , the officer was obviously fishing. His window didn’t work and that set the officer on a defensive posture and once the driver heard why they were pulling him over he wanted a supervisor and refused to ID … legal or not the police shouldn’t be able to just pull people over for no headlights in “rain” it’s a bullshit excuse to give them the ability to investigate and search police need to be reigned in on stuff like that. 
The driver should have acted differently as well however once the police busted the window the police’ actions are bad … mainly the strikes to the face and body I don’t think those are necessary or helped at all in this situation and only made it look MORE like unwarranted police brutality. 

And I’m tired of the police fuck ups being paid for by peoples taxes for fuck sakes

This-Rutabaga6382

Seeing a lot more police brutality lately

Almost as if something or someone has inspired the police to feel like they can act with impunity within the United States

FallenSegull

ima_twee

Weak_Jeweler3077

End Qualified immunity. Make them pay personally.

Wtj182

If that's a white mom in the driver seat, there's no fucking way it escalates to that point. 

Pure racism at its finest.

MEuRaH

No no you see, it was all justified! He had his headlights off in slightly damp weather! Mf was dangerous! These cops must have feared for their lives! I hope they can recover!

OhItsJustJosh

Current JSO party line: "We hold our officers to the highest standards and are committed to thoroughly determining exactly what occurred.”

Very soon: "We have investigated ourselves and concluded that no wrongdoing occurred." (and if any did, your taxpayer dollars will fund the settlement)

awarapu2

ActuatorPerfect

Here:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOQGXAE-q9o](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOQGXAE-q9o)

NOW you can judge.

ChristianRS1977

I love knowing that my taxpayer dollars are paying for this kind of police work and the impending payday the driver is about to get.

atl404itp

Sorry but this guy should have just taken the ticket and contested it in court, being argumentative and confrontational never solves anything and will only further agitate the officer(s) that would be involved.

Spran02

Non-compliant whackjob. Deserved a beating.

Muzzledbutnotout

The video is an edited FAKE 

  
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yghchAzeexw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yghchAzeexw)

  
He got what he asked for, a good old boy ass whoop .  Don't like it ? Too bad

AnyPortInAHurricane

A video showing Florida deputies violently arresting a Black man during a traffic stop has sparked national outrage, highlighting systemic issues in law enforcement.

Police Brutality in Florida Traffic Stop

Why This Matters

Public Sentiment Summary

Highlighted Comments

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What the people want