NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Bodycam footage of cops beating a woman on a N.J. beach failed to show she struck an officer's groin that justified the use of force.
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Police body cam footage released Wednesday of Jersey Shore cops beating a young mother on the beach failed to show a punt to the groin that officials claimed justified the use of force.
Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano said Monday that Emily Weinman, 20, first seen on a viral Twitter video being held down and repeatedly punched in the head by police, was the aggressor in the incident and the official recording would prove it.
Instead, the shaky video shows the part-time summer officer pulling the mom's hair, pushing her head down in the sand and punching her as she struggles with the officers, cursing and spitting at the cops.
"They're choking me. I can't breathe, you f---ing d--khead," Weinman screams as three officers hold her down.
"That's it," one of the officers yells before punching her at least twice in the head.
A sunbather caught the attack on a cell phone video that went viral on Saturday.
The beach-town beatdown occurred after police said they spotted Weinman with beer on the beach, though she said it was unopened. She said she passed a Breathalyzer test.
The horrified beachgoer's recording has caused widespread outrage, with some viewers characterizing it as another case of police brutality.
Body camera footage of the arrest of Emily Weinman on a beach in Wildwood, New Jersey. (Wildwood PD)
None of the three police videos released Wednesday show Weinman kicking an officer in the groin, which the mayor claimed she did.
On the footage, Weinman is heard saying, "You're not allowed to beat me like that, I'm a woman," after an officer socked her in the head.
The Wildwood Police Department on Wednesday identified the three officers involved in the incident as Thomas Cannon, John Hillman and Robert Jordan.
Chief Robert Regalbuto said part of the encounter wasn't recorded because the officer's camera switched off when Weinman "forcibly struck" the officer in the chest.
The camera turned back on in the ensuing brawl, Regalbuto said.
Troiano said Wednesday that Weinman landed the groin kick during the body cam lapse.
The mayor said the incident was "a shame" for everyone involved, but concluded the officers acted appropriately.
Body camera footage of the arrest of Emily Weinman. (Wildwood PD)
"All she needed to do was comply and she would have been issued a summons, but she chose to escalate it," Troiano told the Daily News. "It's a shame in any regards."
As the officers cuff Weinman and bring her over to a squad car, the police video shows her telling them she "didn't do anything wrong."
At one point she cries out, "That's my daughter," as one of her friends approaches with the 18-month-old child.
"He punched her in the face," the friend tells the officers. "Well, she tried to kick at us, so that's it," the officer with the camera responds.
After Weinman is placed in the back of the car, the cop who threw the punches breaks down the incident to a colleague.
"She tried walking away from me," he says. "I tried grabbing her, she tried kicking at us, so I slammed her to the ground . . . I hit her a couple of times and put her in cuffs."
The incident remains under investigation, Regalbuto said, and the three officers involved have been placed on desk duty.
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