2 adults arrested for alleged assault on former NY Gov. Paterson
4 arrested in alleged assault on ex-Gov. Paterson
Four people are now in custody accused of assaulting former NY Gov. David Paterson and his stepson over the weekend. The suspects include two young boys, ages 12 and 13. Police are still looking for one more assailant. FOX 5 NY’s Duarte Geraldino has more on how the attack happened.
NEW YORK - Two adults were arrested for allegedly attacking former NY Gov. David Paterson and his 20-year-old stepson on the Upper East Side on Friday, police said.
Police arrested NYCHA employees 34-year-old Diamond Mintor and 40-year-old Trevor Nurse in connection with a gang assault.
As he was being led into a police car, Nurse told reporters he was acting in self-defense.
"Look at my eye, look at my eye. He punched me in my eye. His son punched me in my eye. I was defending myself," Nurse said.
The former governor admitted on Good Day New York that he did not back down after being struck.
"I know that the person who hit me, I smashed their head into the window at McDonald’s and threw them on the ground," Paterson said.
The incident happened on Friday around 8:35 p.m. in front of 1871 2nd Avenue. Paterson explained that it all started when his stepson saw three people climbing a fire escape and told them to stop. Later when Paterson and his stepson went back outside, they encountered the same group. The attackers hit both men multiple times before fleeing the scene.
"The bad thing is Anthony fell, which is usually when a fight ends, they continued to assault him," Paterson said.
Both Paterson and his stepson suffered injuries to the face and head. Both were taken to a nearby hospital and later released.
"My stepson, Anthony Silwa, was walking his dog on the other side of this building when he saw three rather young people climbing up the side of the building, which has been a way that people have been able to gain access to the building and either vandalize or rob the building in the past. He admonished them that he was going to call the police. They came down and they kind of had a brief argument," Paterson said.
Paterson said it turned into a huge physical confrontation and the former governor and his stepson were outnumbered.
According to police, neither Paterson nor his stepson knew the attackers.
This comes after two kids, ages 12 and 13, turned themselves into the police. They were charged with gang assault on Sunday.
Police are still looking for the final suspect.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).