Alec Baldwin appeared in court today over a misdemeanor case stemming from a November 2 incident in which he and another man got in an argument over a parking space. Vulture reports prosecutors revealed paperwork showing Baldwin admitted to pushing the man moments after the conflict happened.
The paperwork, called a Voluntary Disclosure Form or VDF, was released today shortly after Baldwin’s arraignment in Manhattan criminal court on a misdemeanor attempted assault charge and a harassment violation related to the alleged November 2 spat, which took place at about 1:30 p.m…
According to the complaint against Baldwin, released shortly after his appearance, Baldwin’s accuser told police that he “observed the defendant push me and then strike me across the left side of my face with his closed right hand, resulting in pain to my face.”…
But the VDF contains far more colorful information about the alleged row.
At about 1:50 p.m., Baldwin allegedly complained about the driver to an officer on the scene, saying of him, “he’s an asshole. He stole my spot. I did push him,” the VDF states.
Baldwin didn’t speak to anyone as he came into court but his attorney said there is video showing that Baldwin never committed a crime. From the Associated Press:
The Emmy winner has previously denied he punched anyone in the parking clash outside his Manhattan apartment building Nov. 2.
Lawyer Alan Abramson echoed that denial Monday and added that “incontrovertible video evidence” proves it “beyond all doubt.”
“Mr. Baldwin did not commit any crime, and we are confident that once this matter is fully investigated, it will be resolved swiftly and appropriately in court,” Abramson said. He didn’t show the video and declined to give details about it…
While police arrested Baldwin on assault and harassment charges, prosecutors changed them Monday to attempted assault and harassment.
The attempted assault charge requires proving that someone intentionally tried to injure someone physically. The assault charge, on the other hand, would require establishing that someone intentionally or recklessly did injure another person, or negligently used a deadly weapon or “dangerous instrument.”
It sounds as if there wasn’t any injury on which to hang an assault charge, hence the change to attempted assault. The video will become part of the public record at some point and we’ll all get to make our own judgment. But if Baldwin admitted to a cop that he pushed someone he was having a dispute with, won’t the video show that? Or is the attorney suggesting the video will prove his own client was wrong about what happened? Here’s the AP video of Baldwin walking in and out of court today while ignoring questions from reporters:
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