Woman punched in videotaped beach arrest rejects plea offer

A WOMAN whose violent arrest by police on a beach became a viral video has appeared in court with “no regrets”.

A WOMAN punched in the head by police on a beach in a controversial arrest captured on video has rejected a plea deal in her case.

In May, footage of the arrest of 20-year-old Philadelphia woman Emily Weinman went viral.

The video, shot by a nearby beachgoer showed the bikini-clad woman being punched twice in the head by police as she lay prone on the sand, her legs flailing.

Weinman was charged with aggravated assault on a police officer after the confrontation that began when she repeatedly refused to give Wildwood officers her name when they questioned her about the presence of alcoholic beverages on the beach.

I was sleeping on the beach and I woke up to this.. i can’t believe it.. pic.twitter.com/UJE5Sy7E4G

— Lexy (@HewittLexy) May 26, 2018

The officers involved were cleared of criminal charges after authorities reviewed the bystander video and police body-cam footage. Two of them are on administrative duty, the Press of Atlantic City reports.

The original viral video, taken by a sunbaker and posted to Twitter, sparked outrage online as people slammed the police brutality, while others said Ms Weinman caused a scene.

This week, Weinman was in court to reject a plea deal in relation to the case, and will instead seek entry into a pre-trial program that could lead to the charge being dismissed, AP reports.

One of her lawyers said the situation “could have been handled on both sides”, while another said she “was the victim here, and she has no regrets”.

It all began when police stopped by Weinman and her friend on the beach in New Jersey to see if they were drinking underage.

Weinman refused to give Wildwood officers her name when they questioned her about the presence of alcoholic beverages on the beach.

Tempers escalated after she took a breathalyser test that she appeared to pass and walked away from police refusing to give her surname.

The bystander video shows Weinman being punched. Picture: Twitter

One officer then told her: “You’re about to get dropped” moments before the video showed her being wrestled to the ground.

The 50-second video that went viral around the world showed Ms Weinman being punched in the head as police try to restrain her.

She’s later heard screaming, “You’re not allowed to hit me like that!” and “I didn’t do anything wrong!”.

Ms Weinman was charged over the violent incident, and said she was at the beach with her daughter, the baby’s father and friend and said she had alcohol with her even though she’s underage.

She said she was questioned and passed a breath-test but then questioned why police were bothering with them, prompting one cop to respond: “I was gonna let you go but now I’ll write you up”.

The police body cam footage revealed her getting distressed when it was suggested she was obstructing police in front of her 18-month-old daughter.

“I didn’t do anything to get written up, did I?” she said.

The one officer said: “Now you’re causing a scene.”

After Ms Weinman was grounded by police, she screamed: “Don’t pull my hair, get off of me, what are you doing? You’re choking me.”

Ms Weinman was charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault by spitting bodily fluids at/on a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and minor in possession of alcohol.

Originally published as Woman punched in videotaped beach arrest rejects plea offer