Officers involved in a violent scuffle with a 20-year-old woman suspected of underage drinking at a New Jersey beach — an incident caught on video — were “reassigned to administrative duty pending the outcome of a full and thorough investigation,” officials said Sunday.

Video of the arrest Saturday went viral showing a Wildwood Police officer punching Emily Weinman of Philadelphia twice — once in the head and once in the neck — and putting her in a chokehold. Voices in the background could be heard shouting, “Stop resisting,” according to Fox 29.

The police department issued a statement about the arrest on Facebook Sunday, noting: “While Chief [Robert Regalbuto] finds this video to be alarming, he does not want to rush to any judgment until having the final results of the investigation.”

Weinman is facing multiple charges, including two counts of aggravated assault on an officer and being a minor in possession of alcohol.

She posted about the incident on Facebook, which went viral before being taken down.

“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.

“Honestly, I can say if I took even a sip, then I would’ve gave them my information and called it a day; I’m underage, so I know better,” she wrote, according to The New York Post.

“I know I should’ve gave him my name,” Weinman wrote. “I was partly wrong in a way but I was scared.”

She noted: “I tripped and fell and the cop tackled me to the ground and smashed my head into the sand.”

“But this whole situation was handled wrongly and blew out of proportion all because these pigs didn’t do their jobs the way they were TRAINED to do so.”Officers involved in a violent scuffle with a 20-year-old woman suspected of underage drinking at a New Jersey beach — an incident caught on video — were “reassigned to administrative duty pending the outcome of a full and thorough investigation,” officials said Sunday.

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Video of the arrest Saturday went viral showing a Wildwood Police officer punching Emily Weinman of Philadelphia twice — once in the head and once in the neck — and putting her in a chokehold. Voices in the background could be heard shouting, “Stop resisting,” according to Fox 29.

The police department issued a statement about the arrest on Facebook Sunday, noting: “While Chief [Robert Regalbuto] finds this video to be alarming, he does not want to rush to any judgment until having the final results of the investigation.”

Weinman is facing multiple charges, including two counts of aggravated assault on an officer and being a minor in possession of alcohol.

She posted about the incident on Facebook, which went viral before being taken down.

“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.

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“Honestly, I can say if I took even a sip, then I would’ve gave them my information and called it a day; I’m underage, so I know better,” she wrote, according to The New York Post.

“I know I should’ve gave him my name,” Weinman wrote. “I was partly wrong in a way but I was scared.”

She noted: “I tripped and fell and the cop tackled me to the ground and smashed my head into the sand.”

“But this whole situation was handled wrongly and blew out of proportion all because these pigs didn’t do their jobs the way they were TRAINED to do so.”

Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. told The Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday that the police soon would release body camera footage showing Weinman insulting the cops and spitting on them.

“It wasn’t just that this officer decided to beat her up,” he said. “That wasn’t the case.”

He added: “We don’t like to see anyone get hit, period. But then again, when you have someone who’s aggressively attacking you or spitting at you. … I wasn’t there. I don’t know.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3987987&forum_id=2#36139443)

IOW, "don't enforce whatever law I am breaking."

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3987987&forum_id=2#36141148)

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/05/28/wildwood-officer-punch-woman-video/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3987987&forum_id=2#36149229)

now it's a tragedy now it's so sad to see

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3987987&forum_id=2#36141185)

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2018/05/28/wildwood-officer-punch-woman-video/

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3987987&forum_id=2#36149219)

Police say the officer chased her down and tried to subdue her."

At first the mayor said they'd be releasing body cam footage...wonder what happened to that?

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3987987&forum_id=2#36149355)

It should have been a routine and uneventful interaction with local police: A young mother is at the beach on Memorial Day weekend with her toddler, bothering no one, not drunk and, in fact, not even drinking.

Police arrive, notice unopened cans of Twisted Tea, a malt beverage with an alcohol content equivalent to a can of beer. She tells officers it belongs to her aunt, who she says is of legal drinking age.

But it was anything but routine: Ten minutes later, the woman, Emily Weinman, 20, has been punched in the head by police and placed under arrest -- opening a new chapter in New Jersey viral video history, but also beginning a story that's continued to shift like the sand on which it all occurred.

Here's a look at what we know so far, and the many questions that remain unanswered from looking at police and civilian videos of the incident, which remains under investigation by the Wildwood Police Department's internal affairs unit and the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office.

Favor.png

'Do me a favor...take a deep breath and blow into this.'

Twenty three seconds into one of the official police bodycam videos, Weinman is asked to submit to a breathalyzer test.

You might be wondering: Did she need to, legally?

The short answer is no. Under the law, you waive your right to decline a breathalyzer if you're driving a motor vehicle, but not if you're just walking down the street or, say, on a beach blanket.

The officer's language underscores this: "Do me a favor...Take a deep breath and blow into this, alright?"

Weinman need not have complied, and couldn't have been arrested for not complying, says Joseph Hayden, a former deputy state attorney general.

"I know of no legal precedent where a private citizen could be required to submit to a breathalyzer exam without driving a car," said Hayden. "A non-driving citizen cannot be required to submit to a breathalyzer for investigative purposes."

Screen Shot 2018-05-31 at 2.55.22 PM.png

'Mind your business.'

Now established to be sober, lucid, Weinman is clearly annoyed at being asked to repeatedly perform a sobriety test before her fellow beach-goers.

She tells one person, who is off-screen, "Is there are starer problem? Mind your business."

Screen Shot 2018-05-31 at 3.17.58 PM.png

'How old are you?'

Things get a bit more complex a little over a minute into the encounter.

Police ask Weinman "How old are you?"

For whatever reason, Weinman -- who's 20 -- doesn't answer.

Still, at this point, it's certainly not clear that Weinman has done anything wrong: She isn't drunk, disruptive, drinking, or even the established owner of the alcohol, so no summons has been issued. She also passed a breathalyzer -- and she knows it.

"I know that didn't come back positive," Weinman tells the officer, "Because I didn't take a drink of anything, so..."

The cops in the Wildwood video are seasonal officers. What are they allowed to do?

A weird gap in the police bodycam recording

For reasons that aren't clear, roughly two minutes into the recording and after the officer tells his partner that they plan to pour out the beverages regardless of who owns them, the police body camera video is shut off.

This contradicts the guidance of the New Jersey Attorney General's directive that body cameras "must remain activated throughout the entire encounter / event / episode and shall not be deactivated until it is concluded."

(In fact, there are two body cameras operating, but the Wildwood Police Department has not yet released the footage from the second officer, although NJ Advance Media has requested it under the state Open Public Records Act.)

Police have said that the footage stops because, having poured out the boozy beverages, officers had not planned to issue a summons and considered the matter closed. But then things escalated, and the officer turned the camera back on, police say.

But it also leaves unanswered why police were initially willing to forgo charging Weinman.

She was ultimately charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault by spitting at or on an officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and being a minor in possession of alcohol.

"How are you going to 'let us go?'"

The encounter might have escalated after one of the officers told the women that they were going to "let them go."

"How are you going to 'let us go?' We didn’t even drink alcohol," Weinman, who is out of view of the camera, asks the officer.

It's a fair question, although a loaded one to put to a police officer. Things are about to get wild in the 'wood.

'You're allowed to carry alcohol.'

Then, Weinman makes a comment that is wrong.

She incorrectly states that "you're allowed to carry alcohol...even if you're underage," so long as you're not drinking it.

Not so. It is illegal for a person under the age of 21 to purchase, consume or possess an alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle, school, or public place. If caught, you can be charged with disorderly conduct.

Weinman never says the alcohol is hers, but in arguing with the police, things are about to heat up again.

Remember: You have the right to remain silent, people.

'You're going to lock me up for obstruction?'

Officers repeatedly ask Weinman for last name. She repeatedly refuses.

Is that OK, legally speaking?

Again, Hayden, the former deputy attorney general and now an attorney at the criminal defense law firm of Pashman Stein, thinks it is.

"I don’t know how the police can require someone to give their name unless they had a good faith basis to believe there was criminal conduct," said Hayden.

Indeed, while many states have "stop and identify" laws on the books requiring you to furnish police your name, address and ID if requested, New Jersey isn't one of them. Law enforcement in New Jersey may not request your ID or demand your name -- unless they are already issuing you a court summons.

"There is no excuse to arrest somebody for not providing a name," said Hayden. "But in the real world, not doing so is only going to heighten the suspicion there is criminal activity."

She's then informed she'll be locked up for obstruction of justice.

In possibly the most Jersey Shore response ever, Weinman answers, "You're going to lock me up for obstruction with my f---ing 18-month-old daughter over there?"

However, if the officer was issuing her a citation, she was required to provide her name or she can be charged with obstruction. It appears as if they officer are citing her, but it is unclear since the audio is reacted to protect the women's personal information.

You might cringe, but Snooki would be proud.

'You're mad because you thought we were drinking.'

Now Weinman continues to press her case, demanding, "I didn't disrespect you. I didn't do anything to get written up, did I?"

If she didn't bring the Twisted Teas -- and they do belong to her real (or mythical) aunt -- and she has already complied with police requests for a breathalyzer and passed, then what are we still doing here?

Sounding every bit like those "Does it have a motor?" twins from that famous Subaru commercial from the 1980s, the police officers give the same response, one after the other.

"Why are you causing a scene?" asks one officer.

"Now you're causing a scene." another officer echoes.

She's causing a scene?

'You're about to get dropped.'

Things soon spiral out of control after Weinman accused the officers of presuming her guilty and again refuses to give her name.

"You're mad because you thought we were drinking," said Weinman. "You thought we were drinking. So now you're mad because your breathalyzer came up negative."

Police then say that the issue isn't intoxication, but that she's in possession of alcohol in a public place, and again insist on her giving her name. This is a reversal from just a few minutes earlier, when police seemed to be content to pour out the alcohol and accept her claim that it belonged to her aunt.

When she declines again, the officer snaps, "Alright, I'm done with you," and asks his partner for a pair of handcuffs.

A push back, or bracing for impact?

Emily Weinman was also charged with assault, but it's far from clear from the released footage that she actually assaulted the officer. In the moment before she is slammed to the ground, her palms are raised and they do come into contact with the officer. However, it's unclear if she pushed the officer back or simply raised her hands up an instant before she was tackled.

Q&A on Wildwood beach video: What are your rights if cops question you?

'Oh my god what is wrong with you guys?!'

This is where things get graphic.

The officer calls for backup.

"We have one resisting," he says.

Wrestling Weinman to the ground, an officer commands, "Relax."

Weinman answers, "No!" and later, "I cannot breathe!"

Early in their wrestling match, Weinman insists, "Get the [expletive] off me, yo! I am not resisting."

The spit take

There is little debate that Weinman, face down in the sand and half-cuffed, spat.

But the video is inconclusive as to whether she spat out sand, spat at cops, or spat on them.

Weinman, furiously protesting her arrest in front of her toddler daughter, is half-handcuffed and lying prone on her stomach, face down in the sand, hair in her mouth, presumably, sand in her mouth, too.

She turns her head, and expectorates, but can't seemingly muster much spit with most of it appears to land on her own face, falling far short of the officer.

"You [expletive] dirtball," she hisses. "You white piece of [expletive] trash!"

Witness disputes police account & video doesn't back cops' claims

After Weinman is arrested and stuffed into a police SUV, a witness disputed the officers retelling of the events to their superior officer. One officer claimed she “tried to kick” the arresting officer and managed to kicked his partner.

However, the video does not clearly show Weinman kicking any of the officers.

"Well, she tried kicking us, so that's it," related the officer.

A witness is then heard approaching police on camera, disputing the arresting officer's account.

"She didn't kick you," said the witness. "Everybody on the beach just recorded it."

The bottom line?

While Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. has insisted the videos will exonerate the police, one top former prosecutor isn't so sure.

Lee Vartan, formerly the second highest-ranking official in the state attorney general’s office and a former federal prosecutor, said Weinman has "a strong case."

"She complied with officers’ requests," said Vartan, now a partner in the West Orange-based law firm Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi. "And in refusing to simply continue with their patrol, officers unnecessarily and dangerously escalated the situation."

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/06/these_are_the_crucial_moments_in_the_wildwood_beac.html

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=3987987&forum_id=2#36168768)