New York City Mayor Eric Adams compared Rudy Giuliani to the infamous ‘Central Park Karen’ for ‘falsely reporting a crime’ after he claimed a Staten Island supermarket worker almost knock him to the ground.
Giuliani, 78, who was mayor of NYC from 1994 to 2001, claimed ShopRite employee Daniel Gill, 39, tapped him on the back during a campaign stop in Staten Island. The politician and close Trump ally claims he could have died from the incident and said the slap felt like a ‘boulder.’
Gill can be seen on security footage patting Giuliani on the back during a campaign stop for his son Andrew Giuliani, who was running for New York State governor.
He then reportedly said to the former mayor: ‘What’s up, scumbag?’
Adams, 61, is now calling on the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office (RCDA) to shift its focus away from Gill and toward the former NYC mayor.
‘Just as we’ve done in other cases [like in] the Karen incident [that] happened in Central Park and other incidents, I believe the DA should look at that when determining what the final outcome is,’ Adams said on Wednesday, according to the New York Daily News (NYDN).
The incident the mayor is referring to is when Amy Cooper attacked birdwatcher Christian Cooper, 59, in Central Park’s The Ramble in 2020. She was dubbed a ‘Karen’ – a term used to describe entitled white women – after she called the police and claimed Cooper was threatening her and her dog.
Like in Giuliani’s case, there was video evidence that suggested her claims were not true.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams, 61, accused former mayor Rudy Guiliani, 78, of filing a false police report and compared him to the ‘Central Park Karen,’ who falsely claimed a black man was threatening her in the park in 2020. ‘If that tape wasn’t there, imagine what would have happened to that man?’ Adams questioned on Daily Show on Wednesday
Giuliani branded Adams an ‘idiot’ and said that the NYPD filed the police report, not him. However, Adams claimed the Republican spoke in detail about the assault to police and should be charged for ‘falsely reporting a crime’
‘I said to the DA, listen, she falsely reported a crime, she needs to be arrested. He falsely reported a crime, and the district attorney should take that seriously,’ Adams said on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on Wednesday. ‘That person [Daniel Gill] he falsely reported spent 24 hours in jail. That’s not acceptable.
‘All the theatrics that [Giuliani] did, that’s not acceptable. if that tape wasn’t there, imagine what would have happened to that man?’
Adams also joked with Noah in the opening segment of the show that his ‘handshake’ was assault, but the host just didn’t ‘realize it yet.’
The RCDA originally charged Gill with felony assault, but it has since been downgraded to a misdemeanor charge.
Giuliani has not been charged and it is unclear if he will be. DailyMail.com has reached out to the RCDA for comment.
Daniel Gill spent 24 hours in jail over the incident and was originally charged with felony assault, which later got dropped down to a misdemeanor
Gill (lower left) can be seen touching the former mayor (center) on the back
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The Republican – who branded Adams an ‘idiot’ earlier this week – claimed he ‘didn’t file a report,’ therefore, wouldn’t be subject to charges.
‘Can you imagine that? He wants to prosecute me for a false police report that I didn’t file,’ Giuliani said, according to the NYDN. ‘His police department filed the report. They did the investigation.’
However, Adams claimed his predecessor did, in fact, speak to police, which NYPD sources confirmed to the NYDN. Adams said Giuliani was videoed making the ‘serious allegations’ of events that ‘did not happen.’
‘Because of his report to the police department, a person went to jail for 24 hours,’ Adams said at an unrelated press conference on Wednesday.
Adams called his predecessor ‘irresponsible’ for ‘sensationalizing’ the interaction.
In recounting the crime on a Facebook Live feed, Giuliani, who also worked on the 2020 Trump re-election campaign, said Gill’s touch ‘felt like a boulder.’
‘His intent was to cause serious harm,’ Giuliani said in a Facebook video. ‘I could have fallen and cracked my skull and died.’
The grainy black and white store security video shows the ex-mayor from behind, a group of people around him. Gill comes in from the bottom of the frame and pats Giuliani on the back.
The former mayor turns as Gill continues to address him as he walks past and then quickly off-screen.
Giuliani said Gill was berating him about ‘killing ladies,’ a reference to the ex-mayor’s pro-life stance.
The ex-city leader said that the blow to the back pitched him forward and nearly knocked him down.
Giuliani said he turned to a retired detective in the group and said, ‘let’s get him arrested. Let’s make an example out of him.’
Adams wasn’t having it. He said the video did not show an assault.
‘From what he stated about being punched in the head, felt like a bullet, from what he stated there was a lot of creativity,’ Adams said. ‘I think the district attorney – he’s got the wrong person who he is investigating,’ he said, and repeated: ‘To falsely report a crime is a crime.’
Gill was released without bail and declined to comment on the charges, but his lawyer’s version hews closely with what Adams saw.
‘Given Mr. Giuliani’s obsession with seeing his name in the press and his demonstrated propensity to distort the truth, we are happy to correct the record on exactly what occurred over the weekend on Staten Island,’ Legal Aid spokesman Redmond Haskins said.
Gill is suspended from his supermarket job, pending termination, according to ShopRite.
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