VIDEO: New Jersey Cops Confront Underage Drinker, But Some Say They Went Too Far
source: https://goo.gl/uK1ZUj
Two police officers on a New Jersey beach confronted a young woman who was drinking underage. When a video went viral of what they did, some viewers are saying that the officers went too far to enforce the law.
As summer enters full swing, our men and in women in law enforcement have a lot of work. That’s especially true in cities known for tourists and vacationers. People tend to cut loose and get crazy this time of year. They decide, “Hey, I’m on vacation!” and the rules no longer apply. Police officers have to work overtime to keep their communities in one piece. It’s often not pretty.
Sometimes, police take things too far. The interest of public safety is important. But that does not mean police can do whatever they want to maintain law and order. They, like the rest of us, have to follow the rules.
It’s not always easy. Police officers who are responsible for protecting cities during the summer confront numerous dangers. Vacationers that drink a little too much can become belligerent, offensive, and violent. Police have to become forceful at times to subdue a dangerous person.
In this instance, two police officers were confronting a young woman who was drinking underage. That’s a crime, for sure. But reports came out that the police behaved wildly wrong. People nearby caught the incident on their phone and posted it online. The footage went viral. Now, citizens are demanding answers.
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. [Source: Fox News]
The footage can be viewed below:
As you can see, the officers used aggressive tactics. The video doesn’t show what led up to the physical confrontation, but it does show the woman resisting arrest. Without knowing all of the details and only going on the video, it’s easy to see why social media users don’t like what they are seeing.
Weinman is facing multiple charges, including two counts of aggravated assault on an officer and being a minor in possession of alcohol.
She posted about the incident on Facebook, which went viral before being taken down.
“I asked them don’t they have something better to do as cops than to stop people for underage drinking on the beach,” she wrote.
“Honestly, I can say if I took even a sip, then I would’ve gave them my information and called it a day; I’m underage, so I know better,” she wrote, according to The New York Post.
“I know I should’ve gave him my name,” Weinman wrote. “I was partly wrong in a way but I was scared.”
She noted: “I tripped and fell and the cop tackled me to the ground and smashed my head into the sand.”
“But this whole situation was handled wrongly and blew out of proportion all because these pigs didn’t do their jobs the way they were TRAINED to do so.” [Source: Fox News]
Clearly, she is hardly a saint. But did she deserve the response she received from these officers? That’s impossible to answer with the what is currently known, so maybe we should just wait for the investigation to conclude.
These two officers will possibly be charged for their behavior. And many more people will use this 54-second snapshot of a much longer incident as an excuse to bash all cops.