NEW YORK (PIX11) — A man was arrested for allegedly slapping former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, but Mayor Eric Adams said Tuesday that police should be investigating Giuliani in connection with the Sunday incident instead.
Giuliani has said the alleged slap felt “as if a boulder hit me.” Adams disputed the former mayor’s claims, describing them as creativity and sensationalism.
“I think the district attorney has the wrong person that he’s investigating,” Adams said.
He’s seen video of the alleged slap. From Adams’ perspective, suspect Daniel Gill basically patted Giuliani on the back.
“It was clear that it didn’t feel like a bullet,” Adams said. “It was clear that he wasn’t about to fall to the ground.”
Adams is talking to NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell about the incident. He said he worried about what might have happened if there weren’t video.
“This person would have been accused with a serious crime when all he did was pat the guy on the back,” he said. “You can’t do sensationalism to carry out your own agenda and you can’t use the police to carry out your own agenda.”
Gill was arraigned Monday on misdemeanor charges of assault in the third degree, menacing in the third degree and harassment in the second degree. He’s scheduled to be back in court on Aug. 17.
A spokesperson for the Legal Aid Society, which is representing Gill, said he has “no previous contact with the criminal legal system.”
“Our client merely patted Mr. Giuliani, who sustained nothing remotely resembling physical injuries, without malice to simply get his attention, as the video footage clearly showed,” the spokesperson said. “Mr. Gill was then followed and threatened by one of Mr. Giuliani’s associates who allegedly poked Mr. Gill in the chest and told him that he was going to be ‘locked up’. He was then needlessly held by the NYPD in custody for over 24 hours.”