WILDWOOD, New Jersey – Video of a New Jersey police officer punching a woman on Wildwood beach Saturday afternoon was shared widely on social media, but the chief of the Wildwood Police Department says he does not want to rush to any judgment.
Alexis Hewitt was laying out on the beach when she said she heard a scuffle. She pulled out her phone and started recording.
Recommended Videos
"The next thing we know we hear all this commotion and yelling," Hewitt said. "I woke up and realized there were officers and everybody running around so I immediately grabbed my phone, it was when I started recording."
I was sleeping on the beach and I woke up to this.. i can’t believe it.. pic.twitter.com/UJE5Sy7E4G
— Lexy (@HewittLexy) May 26, 2018
Wildwood police released a statement on Facebook Sunday stating that the woman in the video, 20-year-old Emily Weinman, is facing several charges in connection with the incident.
According to the release, Weinman spit on an officer and kicked another in the groin. She is facing 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.
Weinman took to Facebook in a now-deleted post sharing her side of the story, saying that officers had asked her about underage drinking and then she refused to identify herself. Weinman admitted to having alcohol.
The city said two officers involved in the altercation were placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.