
MAMDANI’S CITY: NYC Mayor Mamdani Says Not to Charge Those Who Three Snow at NYPD Officers
What a busha.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani characterized Monday’s confrontation in Washington Square Park as a “snowball fight,” even as police officials confirmed that several NYPD officers were injured and required hospital treatment for facial cuts after being struck while responding to a disturbance call.
According to an NYPD spokesperson, officers were dispatched to the park following reports of a large, unruly crowd. While attempting to manage the situation, multiple officers were hit in the head with snowballs.
After the incident, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch issued a statement condemning what occurred, calling the conduct “disgraceful” and “criminal,” and confirming that detectives have opened an investigation.
When questioned about the matter during a press conference Tuesday, Mamdani said he had watched footage of the encounter and maintained that “it looked like kids at a snowball fight.”
The mayor further indicated that he does not believe those involved should be charged with assaulting a police officer.
Authorities confirmed that, as of now, no arrests have been made in connection with the episode.
Police unions, however, sharply rejected the mayor’s characterization. The Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) told Fox News Digital that while “some people” may attempt to dismiss the incident as “college hijinks or harmless kids throwing snowballs,” deliberately hurling objects at uniformed officers engaged in official duties amounts to assault.
“We cannot condemn strongly enough the recent disgraceful and dangerous attacks on NYPD Police Officers while responding to a 911 call in Washington Square Park,” SBA president Vincent Vallelong wrote in a statement. “The behavior of the people throwing the snowballs, many of whom are believed to be NYU students, was reckless and unlawful, and put the lives and safety of others at risk.”
Vallelong said those responsible for throwing snow and ice at officers “cross[ed] a clear line.”
“[Officers] are tasked with maintaining public safety in crowded public spaces, often while facing hostility simply for wearing the uniform,” he wrote. “When individuals choose to turn a park into a launching ground for attacks on police, they cross a clear line. Today it is snowballs. Tomorrow it could be rocks, bottles, or worse.
“No worker in this city should be subjected to having objects thrown at them while they do their job — least of all the men and women who run toward danger to protect others. This conduct emboldens further disorder and undermines respect for the rule of law.”
Vallelong also questioned why the mayor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and NYU leadership had not forcefully denounced the incident.
“We call on city leadership, prosecutors, and the courts to treat these incidents with the seriousness they deserve,” he wrote. “… The members of the NYPD will continue to serve and protect every New Yorker — even those who show them disrespect. But they deserve the full support of city officials and the public when they are so brazenly attacked.”
The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York likewise blasted the events as “unacceptable and outrageous.”
“This is the environment that NYC police officers are up against,” the association wrote in a statement. “Our police officers are being treated for their injuries, but the case CANNOT end there. The individuals involved must be identified, arrested and charged with assault on a police officer. And all of our city leaders must speak up to condemn this despicable attack.”
The Detectives’ Endowment Association also criticized those who targeted officers in the park.
“What we saw in Washington Square Park today was not harmless fun — it was a deliberate, outrageous, and dangerous attack on uniformed police officers,” the group’s President Scott Munro wrote in an X post. “The Detectives’ Endowment Association is calling on Mayor Mamdani and District Attorney Bragg to ensure every individual responsible for this illegal behavior is prosecuted. No free pass. No get out of jail free card.”
“Make no mistake: detectives will do what they always do,” he added. “They will identify those involved and they will apprehend them. Our men and women in blue deserve to be safe. They deserve to be protected. And they deserve to be respected. They earn it every single day.”
Although Mamdani did not directly address accusations that dismissing the incident was “an overreaction,” he later posted a message on social media urging respect for law enforcement.
“I’ve seen the videos of kids throwing snowballs at NYPD officers in Washington Square Park. Officers, like all city workers, have been out in a historic blizzard, keeping New Yorkers safe and cars moving. Treat them with respect. If anyone’s catching a snowball, it’s me,” Mamdani wrote.
Political leaders, including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also pressed the mayor to unequivocally condemn the attack.
“This is disgraceful,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., wrote on X. “@NYCMayor and every elected official in our city should denounce this juvenile attack on our #NYPD. Back the blue and hold those who disrespect them accountable.”
Cuomo added that Mamdani, “who has a history of calling the police ‘racist, evil, wicked and corrupt’” had “set the tone.”
“Words have consequences,” Cuomo wrote on social media. “We are seeing that in the growing disrespect for law enforcement — just as we’ve seen it in the rise in antisemitism. Real leaders understand that. This mayor does not. @NYCMayor must denounce this at once.”
Former NYPD Chief of Department John Chell also condemned the episode, calling it a “f—ing disgrace,” and noting that the officers “were outnumbered — yet stood tall the best they could.”
He said he expects a firm response from City Hall.
“Tomorrow morning at about 0800 hours the @NYPDnews better be in full force in Washington Square Park and other parks in full force,” he said in another post. “Let me be clear — if one snowball hits a cop, there should be very forceful arrests – make it legally painful.”