Video Of New Jersey Police Officers Punching Woman On Beach Sparks Investigation

Police in Wildwood, New Jersey are investigating officers seen apparently punching a woman on a beach Saturday in a video that went viral.

The involved officers have been re-assigned to administrative duty while the investigation is conducted, Wildwood Police said Sunday.

“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,” police said.

That video appears to show two officers wrestling a young woman to the ground and punching her in the head on a beach in Wildwood. People can be heard shouting at the woman to stop resisting. A woman who was sleeping on the beach woke up to the disturbance, recorded it on her phone and posted it on Twitter:

The arrested woman was identified as Emily Weinman, 20, of Philadelphia. She 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.

In a now-deleted Facebook post, Weinman wrote that before the arrest, she passed a breathalyzer test. Then, she claimed police followed her on the sand.

"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 on her Facebook, according to New Jersey.com. She said that an officer replied, “I was gonna let you go but now I'll write you up."

She went on to write that she then refused to cooperate with police and didn’t give them her name. As she was backing away, she tripped and fell and she said that’s when one of the officers grabbed her and began tackling her.

Police are asking that anyone present during the incident contact them to assist with their investigation. They should contact Detective Lieutenant Kenneth Gallagher at 609-522-0222.

[Photo: Twitter / @HewittLexy]