Liam Mahoney was detained and arrested after not showing a 12 dollar beach pass. Photo: Austin Downs // Facebook
Last summer, Liam Mahoney was returning from surfing in Belmar, New Jersey when he was tackled to the ground by police and arrested. This week, he pled guilty to violating Belmar’s beach badge ordinance, in exchange for dropping more serious charges.
The reason for the whole debacle was that Mahoney did not have a “beach badge,” a $12 pass required by the New Jersey beach to access the sand. When police stopped Mahoney as he returned from the water, he refused to provide his name and information for a citation and attempted to continue on his way. In response, the officers gave chase, smacked his surfboard from his hands, then threw him to the ground, cuffing and arresting him.
After footage of the confrontation began to make the rounds online, Belmar police released body-cam footage of the arrest, along with a statement defending their actions. The police maintained that Mahoney was not arrested for just his failure to produce a badge, but for his refusal to identify himself to the officer and attempting to walk away during the interrogation.
On Tuesday, Mahoney finally had his day in court. As NJ.com reports, Mahoney told municipal court judge Dennis Lavender that he did not have a beach badge because he thought he did not need one to surf. Furthermore, he said that his actions with the police officer were disorderly and that he obstructed the investigation and resisted arrest. Lavender fined him a combined $1,410 for the disorderly, obstruction and resisting charges. Mahoney was also levied a $57 fine for the beach badge.
As part of Mahoney’s plea bargain, he was accepted into a diversion program, where the charges of disorderly conduct, obstruction and resisting arrest would be dismissed if he complies with a year of probation.
