Police Release Beach Arrest Video Showing Woman Spitting At, Berating Officers

Police in Wildwood, New Jersey released body cam footage of the arrest of a Philadelphia woman, [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

Police in Wildwood, New Jersey released body cam footage of the arrest of a Philadelphia woman, after a beachgoer's video of the incident showing an officer punching the woman went viral.

On Sunday, 20-year-old Emily Weinman of Philadelphia was questioned about alcoholic beverages on the beach. She refused to give her name and is seen walking away from an officer. In the footage, Weinman is seen yelling at the officers, "Don't talk to me."

As Weinman moves towards the officer, it appears that she put her hand on him. The video becomes jumbled as the two fall to the sand, with the officer on top of her, holding her hair.

The video was released after a beachgoer's video of the arrest went viral earlier in the week. According to the Associated Press, this video showed a police officer punching Weinman twice while a baby is heard crying.

"You're not allowed to beat me like that!" Weinman yelled. "I'm a woman! You're not allowed to hit me and choke me like that!"

As Weinman is handcuffed, she appears to spit at the officers. She is heard calling them "dirtball" and "piece of trash."

After she is put in a police vehicle, the officer tells other officers what happened.

"She tried walking away from me," the officer said. "I tried grabbing her. She started kicking at us so I slammed her on the ground. She kicked him, and then I hit her a couple times and I put her in cuffs and locked her up."

On Tuesday, Weinman told the Philadelphia Inquirer she did not spit on the police.

"[The] cops smashed my head into the ground when he tackled me and I spit the sand out of my mouth," she said in a Facebook message to the outlet. "So no, it is not true."

Wildwood Mayor Ernest Troiano defended the police officer's actions, telling the Inquirer that Weinman was "by far the aggressor here."

"Everybody's trying to paint this young lady as an upstanding model citizen," Troiano said. "She's on probation for four years. She chose to attack the officer, spit on the officer. Look I don't care who you are and what you are, the worst people [to try to subdue] are women."

Weinman's attorney, Stephen Dicht, called Troiano's comments "irresponsible," adding, "The number of people who think she got what she deserved is appalling."

According to the police department's Facebook page, Weinman was charged with "Aggravated Assault on a Police Officer (2 Counts), Aggravated Assault by Spitting Bodily Fluids at/on a Police Officer, Disorderly Conduct, Resisting Arrest, Obstruction and Minor in Possession of Alcohol."

Two officers involved in the arrest were put on administrative duty.

Photo credit: Wildwood Police Department

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