Former Gov. David Paterson of New York Assaulted in Manhattan

Mr. Paterson and his stepson suffered minor injuries in a street attack on Friday. The former governor was not believed to have been targeted in the assault, the police said.

David A. Paterson, a former governor of New York, and his stepson were injured in an assault on a Manhattan street on Friday evening, the Police Department said.

Mr. Paterson, 70, and his stepson, Anthony Sliwa, 20, were walking in the Upper East Side at about 8:30 p.m. when they were attacked after a verbal altercation with five people, according to the police.

Mr. Paterson suffered minor injuries to his face and body, while Mr. Sliwa received minor injuries to his face, the police said. Both were taken to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in stable condition. They were sent home early Saturday morning, according to Sean Darcy, a spokesman for Mr. Paterson.

A spokesman for the Police Department said the former governor was not believed to have been targeted in the assault. Mr. Paterson is legally blind but there was no indication that the attackers were aware of this.

Mr. Sliwa is the son of Curtis Sliwa, a former Republican mayoral candidate and the founder of the Guardian Angels, an anti-crime group.

In a news conference Saturday afternoon near the location of the assault, Mr. Paterson said that his stepson first encountered their attackers when he was walking the family dog.

Mr. Sliwa saw some of them going up the fire escape of a brick building on Second Avenue, Mr. Paterson said, and “yelled at them to come down or he was going to call the cops.”

“They came down and he got into it with one of them and that was kind of the end of it,” Mr. Paterson said.

Soon afterward, however, Mr. Sliwa brought the dog home and went back outside with Mr. Paterson, where they encountered the group again, the former governor said.

Mr. Paterson said two adults had joined the fray, and that they physically assaulted him and his stepson.

“It was a bigger argument that ensued but interestingly enough, two adults intervened and actually started the fight,” Mr. Paterson said. “The kids didn’t start the fight. They were arguing.”

The five people, who were not identified, fled on foot along Second Avenue after the assault, according to the police, who said the suspects had not been caught. Several of them appeared to be teenagers, according to footage circulated online by the Police Department.

Mr. Paterson, the 55th governor of New York and the first Black person to hold the office, served from 2008 to 2010.

He rose to the position during a tumultuous time: His predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, resigned in 2008 after being linked to a high-end prostitution ring. Mr. Paterson, then the lieutenant governor, took over after Mr. Spitzer resigned.

Mr. Paterson, a Democrat who served for two decades in the State Senate, weathered his own scandals and a state budget ravaged by recession. He did not seek re-election after completing his term as governor.

On Saturday, Mr. Paterson said that he was confident the police would find his assailants and that he believed his stepson had done nothing wrong.

Mr. Paterson said that a neighbor happened to walk down the street during the fight and saw him and his stepson, who appeared to be hurt. The neighbor and Mr. Paterson then helped Mr. Sliwa back home and called 911.

Mr. Sliwa displayed “a lot of courage, a lot of bravery,” Mr. Paterson said.

Nate Schweber contributed reporting.

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