New Jersey officers fight woman at Wildwood beach
A Twitter video shows police officers wrestling a woman to the ground and punching her in the head at Wildwood beach.
Ernie Troiano, the mayor of Wildwood, N.J., on Monday said the police seen in the viral video that showed an officer striking a woman multiple times “were doing their job."
Troiano told NJ.com that he does not know the entire story of what led up to the encounter, but said she “refused to comply.”
Officers involved in a violent scuffle with a 20-year-old woman suspected of underage drinking at a New Jersey beach — an incident caught on video — were “reassigned to administrative duty pending the outcome of a full and thorough investigation,” officials said Sunday.
Video of the arrest Saturday went viral showing a Wildwood Police officer punching Emily Weinman of Philadelphia twice — once in the head and once in the neck — and putting her in a chokehold. Voices in the background could be heard shouting, “Stop resisting,” according to Fox 29.
The police department issued a statement about the arrest on Facebook Sunday, noting: “While Chief [Robert Regalbuto] finds this video to be alarming, he does not want to rush to any judgment until having the final results of the investigation.”
Weinman is facing multiple charges, including two counts of aggravated assault on an officer and being a minor in possession of alcohol.
Troiano said the city has been trying to crack down on underage drinking.
"If our officers are wrong, they're wrong and they'll be handled as such," the mayor said. ... "But when push comes to shove, I think our police officers did what they had to do."
Fox News' Frank Miles contributed to this report
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