Grocery store employee sues Rudy Giuliani for $2 million, saying the ex-mayor lied to cops to put him in jail

• Rudy Giuliani just got hit with another lawsuit.
• This one says he lied to cops to put a man in jail.
• Giuliani claimed the man hit him and called him a "scumbag," while video shows he patted him and called him a "scumbag."

A former grocery store worker filed a lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani and a group of police officers Wednesday, alleging the former prosecutor and New York City mayor lied to police officers to get him jailed after he called Giuliani a "scumbag."

The lawsuit — which was filed in Manhattan federal court and asks for $2 million in damages — stems from a June 2022 incident, when Giuliani was campaigning in Staten Island for his son's railed run in an election for New York's governorship.

In it, Daniel Gill, a former ShopRite employee, says that Giuliani had visited the store where he was working and "mingled with the shoppers, who variously shook his hand, patted him on the back and shoulders, tapped him on the arm, and generally told him what a great guy he was."

Gill, however, was not a big fan of Giuliani and said he greeted him differently.

"Plaintiff Daniel Gill worked at the ShopRite and had done so for many years, in contrast to Giuliani who has not held an actual job in over a decade," the lawsuit says. "Plaintiff took a break from his work, walked up to Defendant Giuliani, patted or tapped him on the back, said 'what's up scumbag,' and walked away."

Giuliani told police officers who arrived at the store that he wanted Gill to be arrested. He told police officers that Gill "hit" him and that he was in pain, according to the lawsuit. A security camera video shows that Gill patted Giuliani on the back.

Gill was arrested and put in custody for 21 hours, the lawsuit says. Prosecutors brought assault charges against Gill, but they were later reduced to a misdemeanor.

According to the lawsuit, the charges were later dropped entirely. A representative for the Richmond County District Attorney's office, which brought the charges, didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

The lawsuit accuses Giuliani and the police officers of false arrest and false imprisonment. It also accuses Giuliani of defamation. Gill lost his job as the result of false and disparaging public statements Giuliani made about him, the suit says, claiming Gill looked "drunk or high" in subsequent media appearances.

"Defendant Giuliani falsely stated that Plaintiff said to him: 'You f'n this, you f'n that. He then says you're going to kill babies. Um, no not babies. You're going to kill women,'" the lawsuit says, citing Giuliani.

Ted Goodman, a spokesperson for Giuliani, said the lawsuit was "absurd" and politically charged.

"This complaint should be dismissed because it doesn't have legal merit," Goodman said. "The decision to make an arrest was made by the police following their own investigation."

This is the second lawsuit filed against Giuliani this week. On Monday, Noelle Dunphy accused him of sexually abusing her repeatedly between 2019 and 2021, while she worked for him. Giuliani denied those allegations.