NYC employees plead not guilty in former Gov. Paterson assault, lawyer says they tried to defuse the situation
NEW YORK -- Two New York City employees pleaded not guilty Tuesday in what police are calling a gang assault on former New York Gov. David Paterson and his stepson, Anthony Sliwa.
Travor Nurse, 40, and Diamond Minter, 34, appeared in court for arraignment on felony assault charges. Two boys, ages 12 and 13, have also been charged in the case.
Prosecutors said it started when Paterson's 20-year-old stepson, who is the son of Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, confronted a group of young people climbing up a structure outside his building on Friday on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Later in the evening, Paterson and his stepson went for a walk and ran into the same group.
They exchanged words, and that's when Nurse and Minter intervened, and the argument turned physical.
According to prosecutors, both sides took swings at each other before Nurse threw Sliwa to the ground and kicked him, Minter pulled back his arms and two youths stomped at him. Paterson was also hit in the back of the head and knocked down.
Sliwa and Paterson were both treated and released from the hospital.
After learning of the arrests in the case, a spokesperson for the 70-year-old former governor said in a statement, "Friday night was a traumatic experience for the Governor and his stepson and they are looking forward to putting this entire thing behind them as quickly as possible."
A lawyer for Nurse and Minter, who both work for city's housing authority (NYCHA), told The Associated Press his clients were trying to defuse the situation and "what they saw as adults harassing children."
Nurse's bail was set at $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond, and Minter was freed on supervised release. Both are due back in court Friday.