Lawyers for US driver beaten by police want officers fired

Lawyers for a Black driver seen being punched by Florida police in video that has gone viral called for the officers involved to be fired Wednesday for using "excessive force" during the traffic stop.

Footage of the arrest of 22-year-old William McNeil Jr, which he shared on social media at the weekend, has sparked outrage, while the local sheriff's office has opened an internal investigation into the incident and suspended the officer involved.

"You need to terminate that officer immediately," prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump said at a press conference in a church in Jacksonville, Florida.

"If you don't terminate this officer and you condone this type of police excessive force, then it sends a message to all... that it is okay for you to treat citizens like this."

The footage recorded by mobile phone from inside McNeil's car shows his arrest on February 19, in a scene that quickly turned violent.

The young man behind the wheel tells a police officer that he wants to speak to a supervisor to explain the reason for his arrest, and that he does not intend to get out of his vehicle.

Shortly afterwards, an officer, who is white, can be seen smashing McNeil's window and punching him in the face, before several police officers pull him out of the car, hit him in the face again, and drag him to the ground.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, McNeil was pulled over for not having his car headlights on despite bad weather, a version questioned by the driver during the daytime traffic stop, and by his defense team.

"There was no rhyme or reason, no rationale for them stopping him," Crump said.

"This was a classic case of driving while Black," he added, using a term to refer to how Black drivers are disproportionately targeted for traffic stops by police officers across the United States.

McNeil said he was "scared" during the incident. "I just really wanted to know why I was getting pulled over... I knew I didn't do nothing wrong."

The sheriff's office released the officers' body-worn camera footage, which shows McNeil arguing with officers and closing and locking his car door.

Police can be heard repeatedly asking the driver to get out of his vehicle, and then pulling him out and throwing him to the ground. It does not show the punch filmed from inside the car.

No criminal charges have been filed against the officers.

"There absolutely was force used by the arresting officers, and yes that force is ugly," Sheriff T.K. Waters told reporters late Monday.

"Just because force is ugly does not mean it's unlawful."