Police Say Springs Man Head-Butted Town Trustee

An order of protection has been issued for Jim Grimes of Montauk, an East Hampton Town Trustee, after Martin Drew of Springs allegedly head-butted him on Thursday in the Town Hall parking lot.

A meeting of a trustee committee had ended shortly before. "I walked out, was having a conversation with some other people, this guy was kind of lurking, sort of to the periphery,” Mr. Grimes said by phone on Friday. “He clearly was agitated from the get-go, and it escalated to a point where he head-butted me."

"He tried to head-butt me again and ended up diving onto his face on the pavement. He dove, I stepped back, he couldn’t get his hands back in front of him, jumped back up, and said he was going to beat me up.”

Police showed up soon after, at 11:40 a.m., and cited Mr. Drew for second-degree harassment, a violation. 

During Mr. Drew’s arraignment on Friday, Cynthia Darrell, supervisor of the Legal Aid Society’s East End bureau, told East Hampton Town Justice Steven Tekulsky that Mr. Drew is a “lifelong resident who is willing to fight charges.”

Mr. Grimes, who was not at the arraignment, is said to have requested the order of protection after the incident. Justice Tekulsky granted it, warning Mr. Drew that should he fail to attend all court dates a warrant would be issued for his arrest. The order not only specifies that Mr. Drew stay away from Mr. Grimes, but also prohibits any third-party contact.

Mr. Drew frequently attends public meetings, and the protective order would preclude his attendance. Ms. Darrell asked if it could be modified so Mr. Drew could legally go to meetings. Justice Lisa Rana will make that decision on Wednesday, when Mr. Drew is scheduled to return to court.