Surfer arrested, put in chokehold by NJ police for not showing beach badge: video
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NEW YORK (PIX11) — A surfer was put into a chokehold and forced to the ground after not being able to show police his beach badge, according to one video posted to Facebook.
The incident happened on Tuesday, Belmar Police confirmed in an email.
“The individual, 28-year-old Liam Mahoney of Junction City, California, has been charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest,” read a statement from Chief of Police Tina M. Scott. “Both disorderly offenses, as well as obstruction of justice, are petty disorderly persons offenses. Mahoney was also issued a borough ordinance for Beach Badge, which is required.”
Police officers arrested Mahoney, a surfer, on Tuesday while he was wearing a black suit and had long, wet, shoulder-length hair. A woman in a white two-piece bikini repeatedly asked why he was being arrested, stating that he had his badge. An officer put Mahoney in a chokehold position while another officer held his hands behind his back. The officers wrestled the surfer to the ground, and multiple onlookers on the beach screamed at the police to let Mahoney go, noting that the woman in the white bikini had his badge, video shows.
“Belmar police and the mayor should be ashamed of themselves,” Marion Pasqualetto-Saglembeni wrote on a Facebook page where a video of the incident was posted. “This all over a beach badge. Are they for real right now? A badge he had on his bag. In front of children and families. This is pathetic.”
The official webpage of Belmar Beautiful Sea Beach notes that badges are required on the beach seven days a week. The website notes that people in violation will be issued a summons and escorted from the beach. The website does not mention whether you must always wear the badge while on the beach.
The Belmore Police did not comment on the incident but said the department has been “made aware of a video circulation on social media.”
Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here.