Cops: Garden City man on drugs crashed, assaulted arresting officer

A Garden City man was charged with driving while ability impaired by drugs, drug possession and assault after police said he crashed into a fence in Uniondale then injured an officer who tried to arrest him Sunday.

Nassau County police said a second officer was injured attempting to restrain the suspect when he became "physically combative" with hospital staff during treatment.

Ryan Marrinan, 31, of Pine Street, was charged with two counts of second-degree assault, DWAI/drugs and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said.

He faces arraignment at a date to be determined.

Nassau County police said the first injured Third Precinct officer suffered hand and elbow injuries during the arrest and was treated at a local hospital.

Police said the second officer suffered a wrist injury "requiring medical treatment" while attempting to restrain Marrinan at the hospital.

Police said Marrinan was driving when his vehicle left the roadway at the intersection of Westbury Boulevard and Oak Street around 4:20 p.m. Sunday in Uniondale, crashing into a chain link parking lot fence.

Responding officers found Marrinan "behaving highly erratic," police said in an account of the incident, adding that an investigation found the Garden City man to be "under the influence of a controlled substance."

That investigation also determined Marrinan was in possession of an illegal drug, which police said arresting officers believed to be Ketamine.

It was not immediately known if Marrinan is represented by counsel.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”