Video shows officers punching woman in head on Jersey Shore beach
WILDWOOD, New Jersey (WABC) -- It was a wild scene on the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey as police tried to arrest a 20-year-old woman who clearly did not want to be handcuffed.Cellphone video shows one officer hitting the woman twice on the head.
The woman can be heard saying, 'you're not allowed to do that.' Bystanders are also heard yelling at the woman not to resist.
The incident happened on Saturday afternoon around 4 p.m. Emily Weinman from Philadelphia posted on her Facebook page that she is the person who police tried to arrest. She says she was at the beach with her baby and the baby's father and she admits she is underage and she drank.
Later, she says, 'two cops approached me - we got breathalyzed. It came back negative. I told them I wasn't drinking.'
Moments later, a scuffle erupted.
According to police, the woman kicked the officer in the groin before the cellphone video started recording, then you see the physical effort to arrest her.
Eyewitness News spoke with Alexis Hewitt, 19, who was about ten feet from the commotion.
"I was just in disbelief by the action of the officer," Hewitt said.
Weinman says she tripped and fell and the 'cop tackled me to the ground and smashed my head into the sand.'
Sunday, there is an investigation into the incident. The officers have been re-assigned.
Weinman admits on social media that she should have given police her name before all of it turned ugly. She refused at the time, because she feared getting in trouble for underage drinking.
The City of Wildwood Police Department posted the following in response to the incident:
"This City of Wildwood Police Department has received reports of a video on various social media sources, regarding an incident that occurred on the Wildwood beach yesterday afternoon, with our officers.
An Internal Affairs Investigation was immediately initiated into this matter and the involved officers have been reassigned to administrative duty pending the outcome of a full and thorough investigation.
Chief Regalbuto stated that while he finds this video to be alarming, he does not want to rush to any judgment until having the final results of the investigation.
Anyone that may have been present during this altercation and has supporting video that could assist us with this investigation are strongly encouraged to contact Detective Lieutenant Kenneth Gallagher at 609-522-0222. The Cape May County Prosecutors Office, Professional Standards Unit will also be assisting in this investigation."
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