BELMAR, NJ — A video circulating widely on social media shows Belmar police officers grabbing a surfer in a chokehold and throwing him into the sand because he did not immediately present his beach badge when asked, according to the video.
According to the person who posted the video on Facebook, this happened on Tuesday afternoon.
“A local surfer was arrested at Belmar Beach on 19th Avenue for not wearing a beach badge on his wetsuit, even though the badge was attached to his beach bag. During the arrest, officers put him in a chokehold and threw him to the ground. (Please share),” he wrote.
You can watch the video, which contains violence and strong language, here.
The video begins with two Belmar Police officers flanking a man in a wetsuit. A woman in a bikini keeps telling the officers, “His badge is here,” and she is holding something in her hand, presumably to show the officers the beach badge.
“I have my badge here,” the man in the wetsuit tells the officers several times. “I went into the shower.”
“Why are you arresting him? His badge is here,” the woman asks the policewoman.
The police officers grab the man by the arms and he appears to resist. Then the larger of the two officers puts the man in a chokehold and forces him onto the sand.
The woman and other witnesses start screaming and begging the police to stop. A woman passing by becomes very angry and yells at the police: “Leave him alone! This kind of thing happens on the news!”
Even children passing by start to cry.
Belmar police said the surfer resisted arrest and behaved in a disorderly manner.
“The Belmar Police Department has been made aware of a video circulating on social media showing the arrest of an individual on the beach in Belmar on Tuesday, August 20,” Belmar Police said in this Facebook post about the incident, which they published Wednesday evening.
“The defendant, 28-year-old Liam Mahoney of Junction City, California, was charged with disturbing the peace and resisting arrest, both public order offenses, and obstruction of justice, a petty offense. He was also issued a city ordinance requiring the wearing of a beach badge.
The circumstances of the arrest will be thoroughly investigated in accordance with established policies of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of the State of New Jersey.
Notwithstanding this charge, each defendant shall be presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt after a trial at which the defendant shall have all the due process rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the laws of the State.”
The arresting officer was Ryan E. Braswell, NJ.com reported.
