September 24, 2018
Wildwood Police Department/for PhillyVoice
Emily Weinman, 20, of Philadelphia, was arrested on the East Schellinger Avenue beach in Wildwood.
The Philadelphia woman whose arrest on a Wildwood beach went viral this summer will face charges in the incident, a grand jury in Cape May County decided Monday.
Emily Weinman, 20, of Kensington, was indicted Monday morning on charges of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and related charges in the Memorial Day weekend confrontation with Wildwood police.
Bystander videos of the incident showed a patrol man punch Weinman twice in the head in plain view of others on the beach, initially sparking outrage at the conduct of police.
Body camera footage later released by Wildwood police revealed that the arrest stemmed from Weinman's refusal to comply with officers' request to provide her name. The officers suspected Weinman of underage drinking. Weinman passed a breathalyzer test and explained to officers that the alcohol in her cooler belonged to her aunt.
In the body cam footage, one of the officers says he's going to arrest her after she refuses to give her name. Weinman walks away, and the officer is heard saying, "Alright, you're going to get dropped."
She appears to push the officer near where his body camera is attached to his uniform. Weinman is then taken to the ground and one of the officers throws punches toward her head. Police claimed Weinman struck one of the officers before they attempted to arrest her. They later said she spit at one of the officers.
Both of the officers involved in the incident were cleared of wrongdoing after a department review of the incident.
Weinman was offered a plea deal in July but decided to reject it.
"One situation doesn't define someone," Weinman said during an appearance on "Good Morning America" in June. "I'm not a bad person. I'm not this person that they're out here trying to make me seem like."
