EASTON, Pa. — City Councilwoman Taiba Sultana was released from Northampton County Prison on unsecured bail Tuesday, authorities confirmed.
Sultana’s bail action was changed from 10 percent of $20,000 cash to unsecured as of Tuesday morning. According to the docket sheet, Sultana’s husband Muhammad Nadeem Qayyum is guarantor of the bond.
- Easton City Councilwoman Taiba Sultana was arrested Monday afternoon
- Sultana was charged with simple assault under domestic violence
- A neighbor who witnessed the arrest said Sultana was not cuffed when she was led away
Easton police on Monday charged Sultana, 39, with assaulting her son, according to court records.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, Easton police officers were dispatched to Sultana’s Vista Drive home at 2:52 p.m. Monday. The victim was found outside the residence in the front yard.
Police said Sultana is accused of slapping, punching, and head-butting the victim in the face multiple times, causing injuries. Her son also told police his mother punched him in the stomach, according to the affidavit.
Sultana was arrested at her home and taken to central booking for processing. She did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
She faces one second-degree misdemeanor charge of simple assault, and a summary charge of harassment – subject other to physical contact.
A preliminary hearing is set for Aug. 14 before District Judge Daniel G. Corpora.
A neighbor witnessed the arrest.
The neighbor, who asked not to be identified, said they received a notification from a Ring camera about 3 p.m. Monday, and originally thought children playing in the yard had set it off.
The neighbor said they saw police vehicles on the street, and witnessed officers escorting Sultana, uncuffed, into a car. They said Sultana’s children and husband were at the scene.
Sultana has had recent brushes with Easton authorities, including police, fellow councilmembers and the mayor.
Has faced stern rebukes
Sultana has faced some stern rebukes from fellow council members, Mayor Sal Panto Jr. and the Easton Police Departmentstemming from a social media post she made featuring a video clip of Lance Wheeler.
Wheeler, a former council candidate and member of West Ward WISE, was arrested as he was gathering donations for victims of the recent fire on the city's Ferry Street.
“I'm going to end my conversation by saying that I have every single right to speak up. And I have every single right to express my feelings."Councilwoman Taiba Sultana at a June 28 meeting
Sultana posted the video of Wheeler’s arrest with a caption reading, “This just happened. I am outraged!” — a message that drew the ire of some council members and the Easton Police Department during a June council committee meeting.
Wheeler was arrested on May 31 on allegations of assaults and threats directed toward minors while he was serving as a school transportation driver last year.
At the committee meeting, Panto, along with Councilman Ken Brown and Scalzo, declared they were upset Sultana had “condemn[ed]” the Easton Police Department.
During the second council meeting in June, Sultana argued she had been outraged by the situation, and that it was never meant to be an attack on Easton’s police — Wheeler had been arrested by Wilson Police; Easton officers were simply present as the arrest took place in Easton.
She also said she thought she deserved an apology.
“I'm going to end my conversation by saying that I have every single right to speak up," Sultana said at the meeting. "And I have every single right to express my feelings. And you all as elected officials misinterpreted my post, and I deserve an apology."
Panto, before closing the meeting, replied, “Well, I will tell you, if I thought you deserved an apology, I would apologize.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Help is available for victims of domestic abuse through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-877-438-4957, by texting START to 88788, or visiting thehotline.org.
