Taser Used to Subdue Man

A 19-year-old Springs resident whom an East Hampton Town police officer subdued with a Taser early Monday morning, is facing multiple charges, including the felony assault of a police officer. The officer, Sarah Mortenson, was hospitalized as a result of the incident. Police said she had been released but was still in pain and unable to return to duty.

Police had responded to a report of possible domestic violence a little before 3 a.m. at an Eighth Street house. As they spoke to the occupants, they said it became apparent that one of them, Jamian R. Leland, had just been in a car accident in which he had suffered injuries. The wrecked car, a 1993 Honda Civic, was located nearby, at the intersection of 12th Street and Longwood Lane. It is the same car Mr. Leland had been driving on Aug. 25, when he was arrested in Montauk on an aggravated drunken driving charge. His license had been suspended as a result.

According to police, a physical struggle began when Mr. Leland refused to be handcuffed, ending with the use of a Taser. According to Lieutenant A.J. Maguire, besides the assault charge, Mr. Leland has been charged with felony driving with a suspended license as well as drunken driving and resisting arrest as misdemeanors. After being subdued, Mr. Leland also was taken to the hospital, where he has since undergone surgery for internal injuries.

He is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday by East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana, the same justice who suspended his license when the Aug. 25 charges came before the court. “What are you doing with yourself?” she asked Mr. Leland at that time, setting bail at $400 and encouraging him to seek help. Although only 19, Mr. Leland has been on the criminal calendar in East Hampton Town Justice Court several times and has served four months in county jail.

“I am very unhappy to see you again,” Justice Rana had said at the earlier arraignment. It is likely she will be even less pleased to see him on Wednesday.