Man Dies After Cops Use Taser, Pepper Spray

Suffolk police used a taser and pepper spray during a conflict with a man residing in a Maryhaven facility in Middle Island, and the man later died at a hospital in Port Jefferson, police said Thursday.

On Wednesday evening at 8:18 p.m., Maryhaven staff at the Currans Road facility called for police to transport Dainell Simmons, 29, to Stony Brook University Hospital for a psychiatric emergency evaluation, saying he became violent.

Police said he physically fought with the officers, who used the taser and pepper spray to subdue him. Simmons then became unresponsive, police said, and they took him to Mather Hospital, where he later died.

Roger Sullivan, director of community relations for the Port Jefferson Station-based Maryhaven Center of Hope, said: "Our condolences are going out to the family right now, and the police investigation is continuing."

Some of the police officers were treated for injuries they sustained during the physical confrontation.