A Philadelphia woman has accused police of attacking her with punches while she was sunbathing on the beach over the weekend.
Emily Weinman, 20, was enjoying the Memorial Day weekend sunshine in Wildwood, New Jersey, with her 18-month-old daughter and other family members and friends when she was accosted by officers who suspected them of drinking alcohol in public.
"I had alcohol, it's Memorial Day weekend and 90 per cent of people are underage drinking on the beach, without a doubt," said Emily. "Two cops approach me on a their four wheelers and ask me and my friend how old we are, we gave them our ages."
"Then, we got breathalized, and it came back negative. I told them I wasn't drinking and the alcohol was clearly closed/sealed, which the cops seen."
"I asked them don't they have something better to do as cops than to stop people for underage drinking on the beach, saying to that there's so much more serious stuff going on..."
"The cop said, 'I was gonna let you go but now I'll write you up' and he asked my name. I did not do anything wrong and anything could've been written down on that paper so I wouldn't give it to him."
One of the officers can be seen clearly landing several blows to Ms Weinman's face as she struggles with him. The police have alleged that she was drunk and refused to provide ID when questioned, and that she kicked one of the officers in the genitals before running off.
The whole incident has been uploaded to Facebook and viewed 31,000 times, while a second video that was uploaded to Twitter by a fellow beachgoer has been seen more than 1 million times to date.
According to Wildwood cops, Ms Weinman has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault by spitting bodily fluids at/on a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and minor in possession of alcohol.
The incident took place around 4pm on Wildwood beach, a popular summer resort around 50 miles south of Atlantic City on the Jersey Shore. My Weinman was with her daughter at the time, as well as her daughter's father and another friend.
Wildwood police chief Robert Regalburto described the video as 'alarming' but said that people shouldn't 'rush to any judgement' before the facts were established.
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The officers have been placed on administrative duties pending investigation.
Topics: Police, Beach, News, US