Wildwood Police Release Body Cam Video Of Controversial Arrest On Beach
WILDWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Police in Wildwood, New Jersey released body cam video showing Saturday's arrest of a 20-year-old woman on the beach.
Cell phone video went viral showing the woman being punched in the head twice by an officer as he tried to restrain her.
There were a total of three body cam videos released.
The first begins with officers approaching Emily Weinman, of Philadelphia, asking about alcohol. She's heard telling officers it belongs to her aunt before she's given a breathalyzer test twice and asked her age and name.
Weinman walks away to call her aunt and comes back again, refusing to provide officers with her name.
WEB EXTRA: Extended Look At Body Cam Footage Released By Wildwood PD
Then the situation escalates.
An officer tells her she has one last chance to provide her identification. On the final video, Weinman is shown on the ground resisting officers trying to handcuff her.
Weinman cries out and continues yelling and berating the officers as they walk her past a crowd of concerned beachgoers and put her in the back of a police vehicle.
On Tuesday, the town's mayor appeared to defend the officer's actions.
"All you have to do, whether you like it or not, is to comply with their request. They are the police. All they asked for was an identification. But if I was on probation, maybe if I wouldn't want to give my identity up," Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. said.
Weinman was on probation stemming from a 2014 arrest on charges of burglary. She has now been charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, spitting bodily fluids at an officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and minor in possession of alcohol.
The Cape May Prosecutor's Office is investigating, and the officers involved have been put on administrative duty pending an internal affairs investigation. Police say releasing the video was imperative for transparency and wasn't done sooner because juveniles and bystanders had to be redacted.
Officials ask anyone that was there during the arrest and might have other video to come forward to police.
