Lawsuit Involving Controversial Beach Arrest Is Settled: Reports

WILDWOOD, NJ - The city of Wildwood settled a civil lawsuit filed by a woman who was arrested by two police officers in a violent encounter on Memorial Day Weekend two years ago, according to media reports.

Emily Weinman filed a lawsuit in October 2019 against the city alleging that police used excessive force and fabricated evidence against her, according to nj.com. Court documents show Emily Weinman of Philadelphia will receive $325,000 from the lawsuit.

The May 25, 2018 confrontation between Weinman and two police officers took place on the beach. A video of the encounter was shared to social media and drew national attention to the Jersey Shore town.

Weinman, who was under 21 at the time, had gone to the beach on Memorial Day Weekend with her daughter, her father and a friend.

The lawsuit said, "With no legal justification, (the officers) assaulted (Weinman) for no other reason than she refused to provide her last name to the beach patrol officers as they attempted to investigate the ownership of a few unopened bottles of Twisted Teas that were propped against a cooler near (Weinman's) beach blanket," according to 6abc.

The lawsuit alleged that one of the police officers “violently” took her to the ground and began striking her as he pushed Weinman’s head into the ground, according to 6abc.

The Cape May County Prosecutor's Office indicted Weinman on assault charges in September 2019 for the Memorial Day incident. She was also charged with resisting arrest, throwing bodily fluids and obstruction.

But all charges were dropped except one count of disorderly conduct, to which she pleaded guilty in February. She was sentenced to a year of probation and a one-year ban from Wildwood.

Following the trial, her attorneys, Steve Scheffler and Stephen Dicht, did not rule out future civil action by Weinman against the Wildwood officers, according to philly.com.

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