\n \u201cFrom videos I\u2019ve seen, it looks like a snowball fight,\u201d Mamdani said, adding that two officers involved were \u201cfacing lacerations on their face.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Asked whether he thought anyone involved in the incident should be charged with assaulting a police officer if the throwers were to be identified, Mamdani said: \u201cI don\u2019t.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Mamdani\u2019s initial lighthearted tone contrasted with other key officials. By day\u2019s end, he was being accused by the city\u2019s Police Benevolent Association of a \u201cfailure of leadership\u201d and fueling longtime detractors who brought up his past criticisms of law enforcement.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThis was not just a \u2018snowball fight,\u2019\u201d the PBA said<\/a> in a statement. \u201cThis was an assault \u2014 by adults throwing chunks of ice and rocks \u2014 that landed two police officers in the hospital with head and face injuries.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Mamdani on Wednesday reiterated his stance: \u201cI\u2019ve said time and time again that I, having seen these videos, to me, it was a snowball fight that got out of hand and it should be treated accordingly.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI\u2019m not going to be banning snowball fights or organized snowball fights,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019ve shared my thoughts with New Yorkers, and I continue to believe that what we are seeing in this response of this winter blizzard from the city workers as a whole, that includes the hardworking men and women of the NYPD, is part of why the city is getting back on its feet, and I\u2019m appreciative of that work.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n The New York Police Department on Tuesday posted on its social media<\/a> seeking tips for two suspects \u201cWanted for ASSAULT ON A POLICE OFFICER.\u201d The NYPD said \u201ctwo uniformed police officers were inside Washington Square Park when two individuals intentionally struck the officers multiple times with snow and ice causing injury to their head, neck, and face.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Mamdani ally, also weighed in, saying, \u201cOur NYPD officers put themselves on the line to protect us every day. It is never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer, full stop.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n And Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whom Mamdani retained from the prior administration, described the videos of the encounter during the snowball fight as \u201cshowing individuals attacking cops.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cI want to be very clear: The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal. Our detectives are investigating this matter,\u201d Tisch said in a social media post<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n \n In one video, a crowd is heard jeering the officers and throwing snowballs at them as they are walking. One officer is seen shoving at least two people to the ground as snowballs continue to be thrown.\n <\/p>\n \n Footage also shows officers being followed and continuing to be pelted by snow as they walked to their police van.\n <\/p>\n
![\"nypd](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/nypd-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772115510_65_nypd-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n