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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday downplayed Monday’s snow-throwing attack on New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers, calling the Washington Square Park incident a “snowball fight,” despite multiple hospitalizations for facial lacerations.
Several NYPD officers were struck in the head with snowballs while responding to a call about a large, disorderly group at the park, according to a spokesperson for the NYPD.
Following the assault, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch released a statement saying the behavior was “disgraceful” and “criminal,” noting detectives are investigating.
However, when asked about the incident at a news conference on Tuesday, Mamdani told reporters he saw videos of the incident and “it looked like kids at a snowball fight.”
The mayor added he does not believe any of the suspects should face charges for assault on a police officer.
No arrests have been made in connection with the snowball attacks, according to officials.
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,” the deliberate targeting of uniformed police officers while they perform their lawful duties constitutes 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 added those who tossed 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 specifically addressed officials’ response, questioning why the mayor, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and NYU did not condemn the attack.
“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.”
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The Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York called the incident “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.”
Another labor union, the Detectives’ Endowment Association, also denounced the group who threw snowballs at officers.
“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.”
While Mamdani failed to comment on the backlash to the attack being “an overreaction,” during the news conference Tuesday, he released a statement on social media calling for New Yorkers to treat officers with “respect.”
“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.
Leaders including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo pressured the mayor to denounce the assault.
“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.”
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Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who also ran for New York City mayor last year, 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.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment, but they did not immediately respond.
Former NYPD Chief of Department John Chell criticized the snowball incident as a “f—ing disgrace,” adding that the officers “were outnumbered — yet stood tall the best they could.”
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He also said he expects a “strong condemnation” from the mayor.
“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.”
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