'It hurt tremendously.' Rudy Giuliani slapped by Staten Island supermarket employee

Rudy Giuliani slapped in Staten Island supermarket

A Staten Island grocery store worker was arrested after slapping Rudy Giuliani on the back.

NEW YORK - A Staten Island grocery store worker was arrested after he allegedly slapped former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on the back at the store and then cussed him out.

The NYPD says, that 39-year-old Daniel Gill approached Giuliani from behind and slapped him on the back at a ShopRite in the Charleston section of Staten Island around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

Giuliani was out campaigning for his son, Andrew, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor of New York.

Giuliani refused medical attention at the scene.

"It hurt tremendously. I did not know what it was. I had no idea what it was and all of a sudden I heard someone yell something at me I can't repeat about what I am," Giuliani said in a Facebook Live on Monday morning. "Curse words. Dirty curse words and then some more dirty curse words and then a few more as he retreated, ran away. And he kept menacing and threatening."

Giuliani said that he asked for the man to be arrested to make an example out of him.

"Darn right, he should be prosecuted, "Giuliani said.

The charges were downgraded against Gill to third-degree assault and menacing along with second-degree harassment after he was held overnight. A judge released him on his own recognizance.

The Legal Aid Society is representing Gill. It issued a statement on Monday afternoon.

"The charges facing Daniel Gill, who has no previous contact with the criminal legal system, are inconsistent with existing law. Our client merely patted Mr. Giuliani, who sustained nothing remotely resembling physical injuries, without malice to simply get his attention, as the video footage clearly showed."

The statement went on to say that Gill was followed and threatened by one of Giuliani's associates.

The group stated: "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."