East Hampton police officer Luis Morales charged with DWI, Southampton police say

An East Hampton Town police officer was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after Southampton Town police said he crashed into a utility pole early Tuesday morning in Hampton Bays.

East Hampton Police Chief Michael D. Sarlo confirmed the driver, Luis Morales, 39, of East Hampton, is a member of his force and, in an email statement Tuesday to Newsday, said: "Officer Morales has been immediately placed on administrative leave pending a full internal affairs investigation of the incident."

Southampton police said the crash occurred at 2:04 a.m. on West Montauk Highway. The incident resulted in some minor power outages in the area — though the PSEG Long Island outage map showed repairs had been made and power in the area was restored.

Morales was "found to be intoxicated by alcohol" at the scene, Southampton police said, and he was transported to a hospital for treatment of what was described only as "non-life-threatening injuries."

Arraignment information was not immediately available. It was not immediately clear if Morales 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.”