Police on the Jersey Shore put a man in a chokehold earlier this week before arresting him for allegedly surfing without a beach badge.
Videos posted on social media and shared Thursday by the Belmar Police Department show several officers confronting a man in a wetsuit before putting him in a chokehold and slamming him into the sand.
“A local surfer was arrested at Belmar Beach on 19th Avenue for not displaying a beach badge on his wetsuit, despite having the badge attached to his beach bag,” fellow surfer Austin Downs captioned videos posted on Facebook. “During the arrest, officers placed him in a chokehold and threw him to the ground.”
In the videos, the surfer can be heard telling police, “I have my badge right there,” while pointing to the pass on his bag. “I walked into the shower.”
The man then struggles against the officers’ grip as they grab his arms and eventually take him down. Multiple people start screaming as a passerby shouts, “Get off of him! This is what happens on the news!”
Belmar Police on Wednesday identified the surfer as 28-year-old Liam Mahoney, a Belmar native who lives in Junction City, Calif. They said he’d been charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstruction of justice and was issued a ticket for not having a beach badge.
The officer who put Mahoney in a chokehold was identified as Ryan E. Braswell.
In releasing the bodycam video on Thursday, Belmar Police Chief Tina Scott claimed the footage showed police acted appropriately. She said the officers were conducting tag checks after receiving multiple reports of people sneaking onto the beach.
She added a review of the incident was being conducted “in accordance with applicable New Jersey Office of the Attorney General guidelines.”
Witnesses to the Tuesday arrest said the officers overreacted.
“Everyone knows he had a beach badge but surfers cannot wear them on their wetsuits because it will destroy their expensive wetsuits,” Bart Yarnold told ABC 7 New York.
Beach badges — which cost $12 per day for anyone 14 and older — are required at Belmar beaches from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends and holidays.