Wildwood arrest: Experts split on police conduct, use of force

It began as a routine encounter with police on the beach during Memorial Day weekend.

But the interaction between 20-year-old Emily Weinman and officers from the Wildwood Police Department, which started with suspicion of underage drinking, quickly spiraled out of control — ending with Weinman punched by police and placed in handcuffs.

Wildwood Police released body camera footage from one officer last week appearing to show Weinman striking the officer in the torso and repeatedly refusing to comply with commands from the officers.

The videos, which you can watch above, have sparked renewed debate about police misconduct and triggered an internal investigation by the Wildwood Police Department's internal affairs unit and the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office.

MORE: Wildwood cops release police body cam footage of beach arrest

Even police experts are split over whether the officers behaved appropriately both in the initial questioning and in the use of force to arrest Weinman.

The encounter begins

Jon Shane, an associate professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and an expert on police use of force, said the outcome of the investigation will likely hinge on whether officers had a legal basis to stop Weinman in the first place.

Officers must have a reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed to stop and detain someone whether in a car on a highway or lying on the beach, he said.

Police initially noticed unopened cans of alcoholic iced tea nearby. Weinman, who was underage, told police they belonged to her aunt who wasn't present at the time. After she cleared a breathalyzer test, an officer told a colleague that he would only have her pour out the alcohol, according to the body camera footage.

Shane said it's not clear at that point whether a crime had been committed and even whether officers had legal standing to continue questioning her.

"Officers have to have a legally sufficient reason to stop her to begin with," he said.

MORE: Readers take sides on violent Wildwood arrest

Tension mounts

The second of three body camera videos show Weinman becoming increasingly combative with police — refusing to give her last name and asserting that she's done nothing wrong.

Ron Martinelli, a forensic criminologist and a police expert based in Texas, said the officers were legally allowed to detain her for further questioning since it was still possible that she possessed the alcohol underage. At that point, he said, Weinman was still legally required to cooperate with officers.

"Once officers have detained someone, that person is not free to go about their business. They must comply with all orders and commands the officers have," he said. "The venue for argument is in the court of law, not on the beach."

But Christopher Chapman, the executive director of the National Excessive Force Institute and an associate professor of criminal justice at the City University of New York, said once Weinman became uncooperative, the officers should have called for a supervisor and focused on tamping down the tension. State law requires individuals to identify themselves to police only if they are issued a court summons.

"He was not thinking about deescalation," Chapman said of the arresting officer. "It's a police officer's job to have emotional intelligence and deescalate these situations."

MORE: Police punch woman in the head during arrest at the beach

Turning to violence

After Weinman again refused to give her last name, the officer asserted, "I'm done with you. You're about to get dropped" and asked a colleague for a pair of handcuffs.

Weinman initially walked away from the scene, but the officer followed her. Weinman than appears to strike the officer in the torso, causing the body camera to shut off. Both eyewitness video and the body camera video next show the woman in the sand with officers on top of her, one of whom appears to strike her twice in the head.

Even the experts are divided on whether the use of force was appropriate at this point.

Martinelli and Shane said the use of force appeared justified because it was brief and used only to subdue the suspect and allow officers to take her into custody. Chapman, however, disagrees and says there was no reason for force to be used.

Martinelli said officers are trained to use "distraction strikes" in a situation where a suspect is out of control and violently resisting being taken into custody. Officers are often concerned in these situations that a suspect may try to grab hold of their service weapons, he said.

He said it was Weinman, not the police that were responsible for the situation turning violent.

"People won't deescalate. They won't calm down and they put officers in extreme risk and officers want it over quickly," he said. "There's not one thing these officers did that was excessive."

MORE: Wildwood mayor on violent beach arrest: 'She refused to comply'

Shane said the force employed was consistent with police training and would only have been excessive had officers continuously hit Weinman beyond what was required to subdue her.

But Chapman said given the nature of the offense, the officers shouldn't have used force at all and even if police believed she had to be restrained, they could have used a bear hug or an arm lock rather than full punches.

"There is no reason to strike her in the head. There's no reason to strike her because they should be able to hold her down," he said.

In the end, Weinman was pulled from the beach in handcuffs, unleashing a string of insults and invectives at the officers. She was charged with with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault by spitting at or on an officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and being a minor in possession of alcohol.

Joseph Hayden, a former deputy attorney general, said Weinman's actions were "out of line" but the situation should never have escalated to the point of violence.

"The bottom line is that young lady with a young baby should not have left the beach in handcuffs," he said.

Andrew Goudsward: 732-897-4555; agoudsward@gannettnj.com