New York City Mayor Eric Adams has called for an investigation into Rudy Giuliani for falsely reporting a crime, reports Insider.
On Tuesday, Adams spoke about the incident where Giuliani accused a Staten Island ShopRite employee of assaulting him at the store on Sunday.
Giuliani accused the employee, Daniel Gill, of striking him with such force that it felt like a gunshot. He went on to say that he was hit so hard that he could have fallen and cracked his skull.
However, CCTV camera footage showed Giuliani not losing balance after Gill's contacted him on his back.
Gill was initially charged with second-degree assault, which is a felony charge. On Monday, the charge was reduced to a third-degree assault misdemeanor charge, along with two additional charges of third-degree menacing and second-degree harassment.
"Someone needs to remind former Mayor Giuliani that falsely reporting a crime is a crime," argued Adams. "From what he stated about being punched in the head, felt like a bullet—from what he stated, there was a lot of creativity. And I think the district attorney, he has the wrong person he is investigating."
"To falsely report a crime is a crime. If that video wasn't there, then this person would have been charged with punching the former mayor. He would have been charged with all these offenses that did not materialize," continued Adams.
"What if we didn't have the video? This person would've been accused of a serious crime when all he did was pat the guy on the back," said Adams.
In an interview with the New York Post, Giuliani responded by calling Adams a “f**kin scumbag.”
"He doesn't know what he's talking about,” he said. “I didn't file the complaint. His police department filed the report. The police department did an investigation. The police interviewed witnesses.”
On Wednesday, Adams said Giuliani did speak to the NYPD about the incident, which sources from the NYPD corroborated.
Adams suggested on Wednesday that Gill’s jailing was a reminder of his past as he experienced a similar situation in his youth.
“I don’t know if people know what it’s like being in jail when you did not commit a crime,” said Adams, who was incarcerated as a teenager. “You never get over that. This person’s life has been changed because of what all of us saw. The pat on the back was not a punch to the head, was not knocking someone to the ground.”
