Wildwood police weighing whether to release body cam footage
WILDWOOD, N.J. (WTXF) - **WARNING: Graphic Content**
A video showing police officers wrestling a woman to the ground and punching her in the head on a Wildwood beach over Memorial Day weekend has sparked backlash online.
The video, shared on Twitter, captures an officer pinning a woman down as she kicks her legs in the air. Onlookers in the background can be heard shouting, “Stop resisting” as the officer punches the woman in the head twice.
Another officer can be seen trying to subdue the woman as well.
The 20-year-old woman in the video faces several charges, including two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer and a minor in possession of alcohol.
The City of Wildwood Police Department released a statement on their Facebook page stating, in part:
The video comes almost a year after a similar incident, in which a video captured a Wildwood police officer punching a man in the face.
MORE: Video shows Wildwood police officer punching man
The woman who posted the video to Twitter said the incident happened shortly after 4 p.m. on Saturday.
In a post on Facebook that has since been removed, Emily Weinman, of Philadelphia, said she is underage and had alcohol on the beach when officers approached her. Weinman reportedly passed a breathalyzer test and, afterwards, began to walk away to make a phone call. That’s when police followed her.
"I asked them don't they have something better to do as cops than to stop people for underage drinking on the beach," she wrote. An officer reportedly told Weinman, "I was gonna let you go but now I'll write you up."
When Weinman reportedly refused to give the officer her name, the officer threatened to arrest her. Weinman said she began to back away when she tripped and fell. An officer then reportedly tackled her.
In her Facebook post, Weinman conceded that she should have complied with the officer's request, but did not out of fear.
Speaking off camera Monday, the police chief tells FOX 29 that all three officers in the video are seasonal employees, and two are brand new to the force. The other has worked for the city for a few seasons. The two seen in the extended physical altercation with Weinman are now on desk duty. The third who held back the crowd, but can then be seen joining the other officers, remains on the street.
Police say there is body camera footage of the incident, but the police chief says they are deciding whether or not to release the video.
"I'm not taking the police side and I'm not taking the side of the young woman. I'm taking the position that these police officers go through a 26 week training, boot camp training. It's not some little rent-a-cop type situation," Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr. said.
Wildwood police are asking anyone with new video to come forward.