After allegedly getting into a fight with a group of security guards inside a Manhattan migrant shelter last year, Tim Pearson, a top public safety adviser to Mayor Adams, was confronted by one of them outside the facility even as NYPD officers arrived to diffuse the situation, surveillance footage obtained by the Daily News shows.
The alleged scuffle inside the since-shuttered migrant shelter on W. 31st St. near Eighth Ave. on Oct. 17, 2023 remains the subject of a probe by the city’s Department of Investigation — more than 10 months after the incident. That inquiry’s part of a cloud of legal and administrative troubles looming over Pearson that also includes four lawsuits filed by former and current NYPD officers accusing him of sexual misconduct and retaliation.
A DOI spokeswoman declined to comment this month on the status of the Pearson investigation other than to say it’s still “ongoing.”
The shelter brawl prompted the arrest of two security guards, but charges against them were dismissed within days after they and other eyewitnesses alleged Pearson, an ex-NYPD inspector, had started the melee by grabbing a female guard by the neck and pushing her to the ground after she demanded to see his identification.
At the time, Adams spokesman Charles Lutvak said Pearson was denied entry and “accosted” by a guard upon trying to conduct a spot inspection of the shelter, which was shut down by the FDNY a few days later due to fire safety concerns.
The surveillance footage, which was obtained by The News via a Freedom of Information Law request, doesn’t show the actual fight, which allegedly erupted inside when Pearson arrived for the surprise inspection.
But the footage, recorded by an NYPD surveillance camera mounted on a nearby light pole, shows about 25 minutes of what transpired by the shelter entrance in the immediate wake of the alleged clash.
Pearson didn’t return a request for comment this month on the newly-unearthed footage. Adams spokeswoman Amaris Cockfield declined to comment on the footage, but said Friday that Pearson was “participating in a typical safety inspection” when the commotion happened.
When the footage starts, Pearson, wearing a dark blue windbreaker that says “NYPD” on the back, can be seen standing outside the shelter talking to an officer while pointing repeatedly at the front door to the facility. As Pearson keeps pointing, the officer presses his hands down, almost as if to ask Pearson to calm down, the footage shows.
Seconds later, a female security guard is seen exiting the shelter. She walks over, appears to confront Pearson and points at him. Pearson stands still, pointing back at the door she exited, at which point two officers separate them.
The woman then tries a second time to get in Pearson’s face, but is blocked by more officers, who eventually lead her back inside, the footage shows.
A source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed the female security guard is Leesha Bell, who accused Pearson of grabbing her by the neck when he first showed up at the shelter, an act that allegedly set off a broader scuffle between Pearson and her colleagues.
Pearson is then seen speaking on the phone for several minutes.
Once off the phone, Pearson talks for several minutes with an NYPD supervisor.
After their conversation ends, the supervisor and multiple officers enter the shelter and come back out with Bell in handcuffs. She’s then led away into an awaiting police car.
A few minutes later, a male shelter security guard, who was allegedly involved in the earlier fight, approaches the shelter from a different direction, the footage shows.
As the guard, who has been identified as Terrence Rosenthal, appears, Pearson points at Rosenthal and says something to the officers on the scene.
That prompts officers to rush toward Rosenthal, who starts backing up.
Someone is then seen falling into a planter before officers place Rosenthal under arrest and lead him into a police car. Once Rosenthal’s in custody, Pearson gets into a black SUV that then drives off, the footage shows before ending.
Rosenthal was charged with obstructing government administration and harassment following the incident. His public defense attorneys said at the time he spent 30 hours in custody before being released.
Days later, the Manhattan district attorney’s office dismissed all charges against Rosenthal and Bell.
Jason Steinberger, an attorney representing Rosenthal and Bell, filed notices of claims in late October notifying the city his clients planned to sue Pearson, Adams and the NYPD on allegations they were falsely arrested, falsely imprisoned and maliciously prosecuted.
Rosenthal and Bell haven’t filed lawsuits since, but Steinberger said this month his clients are still pursuing their cases. He declined further comment.
The DOI probe into the shelter fight has since been broadened to scrutinize Pearson’s role in overseeing NYPD personnel after the sexual misconduct lawsuits filed against him alleged he holds unusually large sway over police matters despite not being a department official. As first reported by The News, three of the NYPD officers suing Pearson were questioned by the FBI about him earlier this year as part of an unspecified probe.
Amid the legal headaches, Adams hasn’t modified Pearson’s duties.
“People have a tendency to, when accusations are made, to say, ‘You know what, the pressure’s hot, you need to just get rid of a person,’” Adams, who has known Pearson since they served in the NYPD together, said last month when asked why his duties remain the same. “I just don’t operate that way.”
With Graham Rayman
