Emily Weinman: 5 Things To Know About Woman, 20, Punched By Cops On NJ Beach

Emily Weinman: 5 Things To Know About Woman, 20, Punched By Cops On NJ Beach

Philadelphia native Emily Weinman was shockingly punched by a New Jersey police officer during an intense arrest at a New Jersey beach on May 27 and video of the incident caused major backlash on the internet. Here are five things you should know about the 20-year-old.

Emily Weinman, a 20-year-old woman from Philadelphia, made headlines when a video showing her getting repeatedly punched by a New Jersey cop during her arrest on May 27 went viral. The shocking incident took place on a beach in Wildwood, NJ and was filmed and posted by fellow beach goer Alexis Hewitt, who was sleeping on a towel not far from where Emily was at the time of the arrest. “I was sleeping on the beach and I woke up to this.. i can’t believe it..,” she tweeted when she posted the video, which has now been viewed over 2 million times. Here are five things you should know about Emily and the incident.

1.) She is facing felony charges that could result in a prison sentence of many years. After the infamous arrest, Wildwood Police referred her to the Cape May prosecutor’s office on two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, as well as charges of aggravated assault by spitting bodily fluids at/on a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and being a minor in possession of alcohol.

2.) This isn’t the first time she’s been in trouble with the law. According to court documents, she was arrested back in Sept. 2016 and charged with burglary, simple assault, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and recklessly endangering another person. Just over a year later in Nov. 2017, she pleaded guilty to misdemeanor simple assault and misdemeanor “recklessly endangering another person.” Her sentence was four years probation and she had to pay just under $10,000 for court costs and restitution.

3.) Shortly after video of the recent incident went viral, Emily took to Facebook to share her side of the story in a now-deleted post. Her lengthy post included the following:

“So, I decide to go on the beach with my daughter, her father and friend. I had alcohol, it’s Memorial Day weekend and 90 percent of people are underage drinking on the beach, without a doubt. 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. They still stayed, the one cop following me when I walked away to go make a phone call after they did what they had to do.. like okay, they did their job and I cooperated🤔🤦🏻‍♀️ Therefore 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. At that point I was told if I don’t give it to him he’s going to arrest me. I told him I have my 18 month old daughter with me and there’s no need for all of it and that again, I’m not gonna give him my information knowing I didn’t do anything wrong. He told me he’s arresting me and started coming towards me to put handcuffs on me. I cautiously was backing up from him (facing him) and yelled for my daughters father. (he was playing in the ocean with our daughter at the time).. I tripped and fell and the cop tackled me to the ground and smashed my head into the sand. At that point I blacked out and fought any way possible trying to get up and push him off me. Thats when he head locked me me by his arm around my neck, punched on me in my head and then he head locked me again but this time choking me, I was gasping for ear.

Yes, i know I should’ve gave him my name.. I was partly wrong in a way but I was scared; Like I said I didn’t do anything wrong and anything could’ve been written on that paper, the whole situation was iffy and I didn’t trust it.. especially being aware of the fact of how grimy law enforcement can be now a days. & 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. 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. maybe that’s just how they train them nowadays, who knows with the world we live in today🤷🏻‍♀️

Now, I’m over here with a sore body, banging headache and the thought of ever trusting a police officer again if anything were to happen in the future. That’s what we call them for right?🤦🏻‍♀️ We are supposed to feel safe and trust our police officers for anything. Oh, did I mention that they didn’t even take the beer (like they’re supposed to since we were underage) and finish getting my friends info?? They obviously were there to stir the pot. I know I’m not the first this happened too and definitely am sure that I will not be the last!!”

4.) Wildwood Police spoke out about the incident and said they are doing an investigation after seeing the violent video. An official statement read that they “received reports of a video on various social media sources, regarding an incident that occurred on the Wildwood beach yesterday afternoon with our officers” and an “internal affairs investigation was immediately initiated into this matter and the involved officers have been reassigned to administrative duty pending the outcome of a full on thorough investigation.”

5.) The Mayor of Wildwood claims Emily may have initiated the violence when she allegedly insulted and spit on police. Mayor Ernie Troiano Jr. told Philly.com that there is bodycam footage from the police officers that show Emily spitting on them and insulting them before she was arrested. He said that the police officer being investigated did not plan on beating up Emily but he feels underage drinking is a problem. When asked if he thinks the police officer was too violent with Emily, he declined to comment without all the facts. “We don’t like to see anyone get hit, period,” he told the outlet. “But then again, when you have someone who’s aggressively attacking you or spitting at you … I wasn’t there. I don’t know.”