New Jersey Police Arrest Surfer After Confrontation Over Beach Badge

A surfer was arrested after a confrontation with authorities when they asked if he had paid for a pass to use the beach.

At the Jersey Shore , police stopped a surfer and repeatedly asked for his beach badge, which is required before they're allowed on the beach. Beach badges cost $80, or people can buy a $12 wristband for the day.

Police say the surfer refused to cooperate, saying he did not need a beach badge.

Police body camera footage captured the incident.

"I'm not gonna ask you too many more times. You're not free to leave," the police bodycam footage captured the officer saying.

The surfer refused to identify himself and turned to leave.

"I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm in the ocean," the surfer said.

Officers confiscated the man's surfboard and tried to handcuff him.

As the surfer was about to be taken into custody, he said he had a beach badge and showed it to the officers, but it was too late. The officers told him he was being charged with resisting arrest.

"I thought that that roughness on the beach was uncalled for," a beachgoer tells Inside Edition.

Police identified the man as 28-year-old Liam Mahoney.

"Mr. Mahoney was not arrested for not having a beach badge. He was arrested because he obstructed the officer's investigation by refusing to give his identification," Belmar police said in a statement.

Mahoney has not yet entered a plea. He is due in court on Sept. 11.

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