Law and Disorder: TV Cop Richard Belzer Says He Didn't iChoke Anyone in Apple Store

NEW YORK (CBS) Richard Belzer, the crusty Detective John Munch from "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit," says accusations that he tried to choke an employee in an Apple store in New York are ridiculous and the accuser needs a mental health check up.

"I think you have to pass a personality test to work there, and I don't know how this woman slipped through the cracks," the comedian and actor told the New York Post during a barefoot and bathrobe clad interview at his uptown apartment.

According to the paper, police were called to the West 67th street Apple store after Milan Agnew, 21, claimed Belzer "grabbed her shoulders, shook her and choked her before barking, 'I need help.'"

In Belzer's version of events, he merely put his hand on her shoulder to ask for assistance, says the Post. "She wanted attention and she knew who I was and I clearly didn't assault her," he told the paper.

Agnew says she's not "star-struck by anyone," and insists "there is no gentle manner to grab someone's neck."

Police viewed video surveillance, didn't see a criminal act and refused to charge Belzer, according to the Post. Agnew filed a complaint, which she can pursue in civil court.

As for Belzer, the ruckus seems not to have blunted his love for Apple. He walked away with a new 21.5-inch iMac.