Woman punched by cop on N.J. beach speaks out
A Philadelphia woman who was punched by an officer on a New Jersey beach says allegations that she spit on police are untrue. "[The] cops smashed my head into the ground when he tackled me and I spit the sand out of my mouth," 20-year-old Emily Weinman said in a Facebook message to an Inquirer and Daily News reporter Monday. "So no, it is not true."
Weinman faces several charges including two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest following the incident at the beach on Saturday, according to Wildwood, New Jersey, police.
A video filmed that day by another beachgoer shows two officers trying to subdue Weinman and one officer hitting her in the head. The officers have been reassigned to administrative duty.
Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano said the body camera footage will show the woman spitting at the officers and kicking one in the groin.
"We're not dealing with an angel here," Troiano said, according to Philly.com. "She chose to take on the police. The police did their job."
An attorney for Weinman told the publication that the charges against her are exaggerated.