John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images(NEW YORK) — A New Jersey police officer was recorded repeatedly punching a Philadelphia woman as they wrestled on the ground at a New Jersey beach over the Memorial Day weekend.
Video of the confrontation, which took place in Wildwood, New Jersey, on Saturday around 4 p.m., has been viewed almost 40,000 times on Twitter.
The footage shows multiple Wildwood Police Department officers working in concert to subdue a woman they identified as Emily Weinman, a 20-year-old from Philadelphia, who is seen flailing her arms and legs in a one-piece black swimsuit.
The cops manage to wrestle Weinman to the sand and one is seen throwing three punches with his right fist downward to her head, while another pins her bare legs.
Numerous beachgoers circling the melee can be heard repeatedly warning Weinman, “Stop resisting.”
Weinman faces charges of aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault by spitting bodily fluids at/on a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and possession of alcohol by a minor.
Alexis Hewitt was sleeping on a towel next to Weinman when she heard the commotion and woke up. She confirmed to ABC News that she shot video of the altercation.
“I was sleeping on the beach and I woke up to this… i can’t believe it…,” she wrote on Twitter.
After Hewitt’s video went viral the Wildwood Police Department put out a release that an internal investigation was opened and the officers involved in the arrest of Weinman “have been reassigned to administrative duty” pending its outcome.
“Chief [Robert] 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,” the statement said.
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