NYC Mayor Eric Adams suggested Tuesday that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani be investigated for filing a false police report for assault by a heckler who clapped him on the back.
In the incident, which took place in a Staten Island grocery store, Giuliani alleges that a man approached him, accused him of being 'a woman killer', and slapped him hard enough that 'it felt like somebody shot me'. He added that 'it felt like a boulder hit me' on Facebook.
“Someone needs to remind former Mayor Giuliani that falsely reporting a crime is a crime,” Adams told reporters, saying he’d watched a security video that undercut Giuliani’s harrowing account, and that in security footage of the incident, Giuliani barely reacts when his back was touched. “When you look at the video, the guy basically walked by and patted him on the back,” Adams said. “It was clear that he was not punched in the head. It was clear that it didn’t feel like a bullet. It was clear that he wasn’t about to fall to the ground.”
Police say the heckler cried our "What's up, scumbag?" as he approached Giuliani. He was arrested and detained for more than twenty-four hours before being arraigned for a misdemeanor charge and third-degree assault. A public defender represented him during arraignment; he has since retained private council, who did not respond to a request for comment.
Adams said he thinks Staten Island District Attorney Michael McMahon “has the wrong person that he’s investigating." Giuliani responded to the recommendation by calling the mayor 'a scumbag' among other things. McMahon declined to comment on the incident or recommendation.