A controversial former adviser to Mayor Eric Adams barged into a migrant shelter with no ID and shoved two security guards – then used his influence to get them both arrested, a watchdog investigation found.
The city’s Department of Investigation concluded ex-aide Tim Pearson “abused his authority” during a 2023 clash where he stormed into Touro College respite center in Midtown, shoving a male guard who asked to see his identification then pushing a female guard into a counter.
After his foul-mouthed tantrum — where he whined “you don’t know who the f–k I am?” — he sparked a massive police response and got the two guards booked although prosecutors never pressed charges, according to a final report on the probe released Thursday.
The DOI found Pearson’s claims contradicted witness statements and bodycam footage.
“His conduct, as evidenced by witness statements and Body Worn Camera footage that DOI reviewed, fell far below our most basic expectations for public servants,” Jocelyn Strauber, commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation, said in a statement.
The DOI didn’t recommend any consequences for Pearson, who left City Hall in September after authorities seized his phone as part of a sweeping corruption probe into the Adams administration.
The clash unfolded Oct. 17, 2023 when the longtime pal of the mayor allegedly lost it when he was asked at the entrance to Touro if he had ID.
“You don’t know who the f–k I am?” he yelled, then shoved his way past the first guard into the shelter’s lobby, where he was approached by a female security guard who asked to see his identification, DOI said.
“Who the f–k are you?” Pearson snapped, according to witnesses cited in the report. “Get out of my face.”
Pearson then threatened the woman’s job and pushed her, causing her to fall backwards into a counter, according to the report.
Other shelter security guards then rushed at Pearson “holding him by the arms, and physically removing him from the building,” the report added.
Pearson, a 2012 NYPD retiree, then approached officers stationed in a vehicle across the street and instructed them to call a “10-85,” a code officers use to call for backup when conducting an arrest, causing seven units and 19 NYPD officers to respond to the scene, the DOI found.
He blamed the guards for starting the fight, saying he was visiting the building on a fire alarm issue but six witnesses refuted Pearson’s claims, according to the report.
Pearson refused to speak with DOI investigators but Pearson’s driver that day, Detective Joseph Raffaele, told investigators Pearson did not start the fight, the report said.
During his tenure at City Hall, Pearson was closely involved in the city’s handling of the migrant crisis, often conducting visits to shelters. The mayor has credited him for saving the city money.
But Pearson was also engulfed in controversy during the time he worked for the Adams administration.
Sources have said Pearson allegedly used his power to secure deals for migrant shelters to interfere with picking contractors in exchange for kickbacks.
Feds have also questioned cops in Pearson’s obscure city unit, the Municipal Services Assessment, about city contracting, sources said.
A lawsuit filed in April last year even contended Pearson told workers in the office he was looking to line his own pockets.
Pearson’s allegedly sleazy behavior has also been called out in at least four lawsuits for sexual misconduct filed against the former cop.
