Bodycam video of Belmar Beach arrest released – NBC New York

Authorities in a popular New Jersey shore town are releasing body camera footage following a heated backlash to a video that surfaced earlier this week showing police officers engaged in a heated altercation while arresting a beachgoer without a badge.

Carl Garguilo watched in shock Tuesday as Belmar police arrested 28-year-old Liam Mahoney shortly after he emerged from the water. He said he saw officers tell him to put his hands behind his back and then drag him to the sand.

“People said leave him alone, his sister said he had a badge,” Gargiulo said. “It was very violent and I think it's disturbing for us on the beach to see that.”

Gargiulo said he has known Mahoney, who grew up in Belmar and was in town visiting family, all his life and, like many surfers, he did not attach his beach badge to his wetsuit. Many people had badges attached to a beach bag.

Beachgoers report that patrols have increased in recent days. Local police attribute the increased presence to a number of complaints that surfers are illegally entering the beach over the dunes. According to the Belmar police chief, gatekeepers who asked these surfers for their identification were ignored.

On Tuesday, the day of Mahoney's incident, officers who encountered him were conducting one of their routine ID checks. Body camera footage shows the young man saying, “I don't need one” when initially asked for his ID. He is aware of local ordinances requiring him to show ID and says “no” when asked for his information so an officer can issue a citation for the appropriate violation, police body camera footage shows.

Authorities say Mahoney was not arrested because he did not have a beach tag on him. They say he was arrested because he allegedly hindered officers' investigation by refusing to give up his information. Officers allegedly asked Mahoney to put his hands behind his back nine to 10 times, at which point he repeatedly refused and attempted to walk away with his surfboard.

The details of his lawyer were not immediately clear.

Other beachgoers say this is not the first such confrontation on the sand this week. Some say they witnessed a confrontation between a surfer and an ID checker the day before, on Monday, which they suspect may have been the reason for the increased enforcement.