Migrant shelter security guards claim former Adams aide Tim Pearson attacked them: lawsuit

Three information guards astatine a Midtown migrant structure are suing Tim Pearson, a apical mayoral advisor who precocious stepped down, for allegedly attacking them aft they asked for his ID astatine the shelter’s entrance.

“B—-, bash you cognize who I am?” Pearson said to a defender earlier grabbing her cervix and shoving her into a counter, according to the suit, filed Monday successful Manhattan Supreme Court. The ailment besides names the city, the NYPD and different defendants.

The suit alleges the 3 Arrow Security employees, Terrence Rosenthal, Leesha Bell and Angelica Weldon, approached Pearson and NYPD Detective Joseph Raffaelle past October, asking them for identification arsenic they attempted to enter the 31st St. shelter.

Pearson past attacked Bell, cursing astatine her and gripping her neck, according to the complaint. He past lunged astatine Weldon, pushing her into a partition and onto the floor, and past with Raffaelle, Vitucci and different NYPD officer, threw Rosenthal to the ground.

NYPD; Luiz Ribeiro for New York Daily News

Former NYPD Inspector Timothy Pearson, left, is simply a longtime advisor to Mayor Eric Adams. (NYPD; Luiz Ribeiro for New York Daily News)

“The City of New York and Mayor Eric Adams knew Timothy Pearson was not qualified to service successful his medication and contempt continued substantiated allegations of misconduct and knowing helium posed a hazard to the information of others, they continued his employment and unnecessarily endangered the public,” ​​Jason Steinberger, lawyer for each 3 guards, said successful a statement.

Differing reports emerged aft the October 2023 incident — with constabulary sources telling the Daily News the guards decided to “exceed their authority” and that Pearson was the 1 shoved by them. Pearson, who was conducting a prime assurance spot inspection, was wearing a overgarment that identified him arsenic a elder advisor to the politician and was accompanied by uniformed NYPD officers.

Pearson was not charged. Both Bell and Rosenthal were arrested and held astatine a constabulary precinct the time of the incident. Their charges were yet dropped by the Manhattan territory attorney’s office.

The suit is seeking monetary damages and attorney’s fees for carnal and affectional abuse, mendacious apprehension and imprisonment and malicious prosecution.

The Law Department is bankrolling Pearson successful several intersexual harassment lawsuits. John Flannery, who represents Pearson successful those suits, didn’t instantly respond to a petition for comment, nor did Hugh Mo, Pearson’s transgression lawyer. Nicholas Paolucci, a spokesperson for the city’s Law Department, declined to comment.

Obtained by Daily News

After allegedly getting into a combat with a radical of information guards wrong a Manhattan migrant structure past year, Tim Pearson, a apical nationalist information advisor to Mayor Adams, was confronted by 1 of them extracurricular the installation adjacent arsenic NYPD officers arrived to diffuse the situation, surveillance footage obtained by the Daily News shows. (Obtained by Daily News)

The suit says the guards didn’t taxable Pearson to immoderate carnal contact. 

Pearson resigned from Adams’ medication past week aft the politician was indicted successful a national investigation connected charges helium accepted and solicited bribes from the Turkish government.

The erstwhile adjutant is caught up successful a abstracted national corruption probe arsenic 1 of aggregate apical aides to the politician who had their homes raided and electronics seized by national investigators successful September arsenic portion of respective ongoing corruption probes.

Molly Shaeffer, who worked intimately with Pearson managing the city’s migrant services contracts arsenic the city’s manager of the Office of Asylum Seekers, was subpoenaed to look earlier a expansive assemblage past month.

With Graham Rayman and Molly Crane-Newman