Alec Baldwin gets into another alleged scuffle with photographer

Alec Baldwin's paternal instincts appeared to re-unleash his aggressive side Tuesday.

The 55-year-old "30 Rock" star scuffled with freelance photographer Paul Adao, who was taking shots of him and his wife, Hilaria, in Greenwich Village. Although the police said no punches were thrown, photos showed Baldwin shouting at the photographer, grabbing him from behind and putting his face into the back of a car near East 10th Street and University Place.

Hilaria, 29, just gave birth on Friday to the couple's first child, Carmen Gabriela, and one of Baldwin's friends told TMZ.com that he was defending her from the encroaching paparazzi.

"What kind of sick twisted psychopath chases a woman, who just got out of the hospital from having a baby, into a tea store?" the friend asked.

A spokeswoman for the NYPD said both Baldwin and the photographer called 911 but ultimately decided not to press charges against each other.

"They decided to walk away and go about their business," the spokeswoman said.

Baldwin's representative declined to comment about the incident.

The incident mirrored a scuffle Baldwin had last year with a Daily News photographer. He and his wife were allegedly accosted by Marcus Santos when they had obtained their marriage license and were exiting the marriage bureau.

Santos wanted an apology, but Baldwin, who has had several run-ins with the paparazzi, said the media was unnecessarily painting him as the bad guy.

"I mean, I'm in front of a courthouse, the place is crawling with cops. If I'm slugging a photographer out in front of a courthouse -- I mean, I'm dumb, but I'm not that dumb. There must've been 10 cops right there on the block," he said after the incident.