NYC city assemblyman Eddie Gibbs arrested after altercation with police

Though his legal troubles have certainly made headlines in recent days, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is not the only public official in the Big Apple to run afoul of authorities, with another local politician also now on his way to court.

State Assemblyman Eddie Gibbs, who represents a district in Harlem and is viewed as a close ally of Mayor Adams, was arrested on Thursday after he allegedly interfered with police during a traffic stop in Manhattan involving his brother, as the New York Post reports.

Traffic stop leads to arrest

According to Politico, sources close to the NYPD indicated that Gibbs' sibling was behind the wheel of the car in which the assemblyman was riding, when he was pulled over for a faulty tail light and improper vehicle registration.

A heated exchange between Gibbs and law enforcement officers reportedly ensued in which the assemblyman repeatedly ignored instructions, prompting more than 10 police cruisers to respond to the scene on Lexington Avenue near the James Weldon Johnson Community Center.

Gibbs was patted down, handcuffed, and driven away by police, according to the outlet, a scenario that was confirmed by eyewitnesses and later by Gibbs himself.

Subsequent reporting revealed that Gibbs was ultimately issued a summons for disorderly conduct resulting from his confrontation with police.

Mea culpa issued

Later the same day, Gibbs departed the police precinct where he had been taken for processing and acknowledged to inquiring journalists that he had been in the wrong and that police were not at fault.

“It was all on my part. I see my brother and sister in the car and they were pulled over and I wanted to know why,” Gibbs began.

Continuing with his explanation, Gibbs added, “When they explained the brake light, I went and adjusted the brake and I shouldn't have because the stop was still active.”

Seeming to hope that his experience might prove instructive to others, Gibbs implored fellow citizens to “respect car stops.”

“Officers don't know who they are pulling aside,” Gibbs observed,” noting with regret that he “added to that fear.”

Unorthodox career trajectory

Gibbs, a Democrat, first secured election to the state Assembly in a special election back in 2022, marking a stark change in direction from his prior occupation.

The former crack-dealer-turned-legislator previously spent time in prison for murder before successfully pleading his case down to a manslaughter charge by using a claim of self-defense.

Despite -- or perhaps even because of -- his past history with the legal system, Gibbs stepped up this week and admitted to his most recent personal failing, saying to a group of local reporters -- in admirably straightforward fashion -- that as far as his ill-advised encounter with police went, “I was wrong.”