Beach punch video: New Jersey officers won’t face charges

Alex N. Gecan | Asbury Park (N.J.) Press

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, N.J. — Three police officers who were videotaped arresting a Philadelphia woman at a New Jersey beach, one of whom was filmed punching her in the back of the head, will not face criminal charges, prosecutors announced Tuesday.

A video of the May 26 arrest, which only captured part of the encounter and included a Wildwood officer apparently punching 20-year-old Emily Weinman, went viral shortly after the arrest. Body camera footage that city police later released appeared to show Weinman backing away from an officer who tried to handcuff her, then shove him in the torso.

The Cape May County Prosecutor's Office determined the officers had not broken any state laws governing use of force and referred the investigation back to the city police department's internal affairs office, prosecutor Jeffrey H. Sutherland wrote in a prepared statement. The prosecutor's office's Professional Standards Unit will monitor the city investigation.

Woman punched in the head on the beach by NJ Police during arrest. Wildwood police have launched an internal affairs investigation after video surfaced showing an officer punching a 20-year-old woman in the head twice during an arrest.

Police officers had originally questioned Weinman about alcohol when they approached her on the beach. They administered a breath test and one officer can be heard saying in part of the body camera footage that they would have Weinman or her group pour out alcohol at the scene. The officers changed their minds at some point and decided to take Weinman into custody.

In a prepared statement at the time police released their footage, Wildwood Police Chief Robert N. Regalbuto said that Weinman "forcibly struck" an officer trying to arrest her, turning off his body camera, but that the camera reactivated as a struggle ensued.

The three officers involved in the arrest — Thomas Cannon, John Hillman and Robert Jordan — were put on administrative duty pending the outcome of the internal affairs investigation, police announced the day after the incident.

"As county prosecutor, I recognize that the video footage has raised a lot of questions regarding the officers' actions. A decision such as this is not based on emotion; it is based upon applying the proper laws, policies and directives that govern law enforcement," Sutherland wrote in his statement. "Members of the public should understand that no matter what your opinion is regarding the subject event, it is not based on a full review of the evidence."

More: Experts split on police conduct, use of force in NJ beach arrest incident

More: Body cam video shows what happened before a cop punched a woman during beach arrest in New Jersey

Weinman's attorney, Stephen P. Dicht, took a different view.

"My only comment is, of all the participants in that scuffle, OK, the only one that was charged was the one who was beaten on the head," Dicht told the Asbury Park Press in a phone interview.

Police charged Weinman with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault by spitting bodily fluids at or on a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and underage possession of alcohol, they announced May 27. Her attorney said she intended to fight the charges in court.

He said that something one of the officers said in one of the clips — that Weinman was going to get "dropped" — was a threat and an offense.

Regalbuto was not immediately available Tuesday.

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