Two cops have been left with lacerations after being relentlessly pelted with snowballs at Washington Sq. Park on Monday afternoon (proper) Mayor Mamdani throughout a PSA on his Instagram encouraging New Yorkers to join the emergency shoveling program
Pictures through Citizen/NYC Mayor Instagram
Mayor Zohran Mamdani refused to endorse on Tuesday calls by police unions and town’s police commissioner to deal with a snowball combat at Washington Sq. Park as a felony matter, urging New Yorkers as a substitute to respect officers whereas repeatedly describing the incident as a snowball combat involving younger individuals.
Talking at a weather-related press convention in Brooklyn on Feb. 24, Mamdani stated he had reviewed movies of Monday’s incident, however didn’t explicitly agree with characterizations from the Police Benevolent Affiliation and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch of the incident as being felony, regardless of an ongoing NYPD investigation.
“I’ve seen videos of kids throwing snowballs at members of the NYPD in Washington Square Park,” Mamdani stated. “First, I want to say that officers have been on the front line of helping our city respond to this blizzard. They have been keeping New Yorkers safe, and they have also been at the heart of our efforts of digging New Yorkers’ cars out of these kinds of conditions and ensuring that our ambulances or MTA buses can keep functioning across this city. They and our entire city workforce deserve to be treated with respect.”
These feedback have been practically an identical to a publish earlier Tuesday morning on X wherein he emphasised respect for officers throughout a historic blizzard whereas utilizing humor to defuse tensions.
Mamdani stated two officers suffered lacerations to their faces through the incident.
“The only person in our city’s workforce who deserves to be treated with a snowball is me,” he added, referencing previous events, like throughout Winter Storm Fern and once more Monday, when he invited NYC public college college students to throw snowballs at him over distant studying and snow days.
Requested whether or not he knew for sure whether or not these concerned have been kids or adults, the mayor stated, “I can just tell you from the video I saw, it looked like kids at a snowball fight.”
Pressed once more on whether or not he supported the felony investigation introduced by police management, Mamdani reiterated his view: “I don’t from the videos that I’ve seen, it looks like a snowball fight.”
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated late Monday that an investigation has been launched after a number of cops have been relentlessly pelted with snowballs at Washington Sq. Park.Screenshot through Citizen
His tone contrasted sharply with that of Tisch, who condemned the incident as “disgraceful” and stated detectives have been investigating what she described as felony conduct after officers responding to studies of disorderly conduct have been pelted with snowballs.
In accordance with police and video footage circulating on-line, a big crowd gathered within the Greenwich Village park following Monday’s blizzard for a snowball combat scheduled on-line, initially partaking in innocent winter enjoyable. As officers arrived, some members of the gang started throwing snowballs at police, surrounding officers, and shouting taunts.
At the very least one particular person was arrested, police stated. A number of officers have been struck by snowballs, although no critical accidents have been reported past the facial lacerations.
Police unions sharply criticized the incident and the mayor’s feedback. The Police Benevolent Affiliation known as the conduct “unacceptable and outrageous” and stated these concerned should be recognized, arrested, and charged with assault on a police officer, urging metropolis leaders to sentence what it described as an assault.
In response to Mamdani’s remarks on Tuesday afternoon, PBA President Patrick Hendry described his response as “a complete failure of leadership.”
“This was not just a ‘snowball fight.’ This was an assault — by adults throwing chunks of ice and rocks — that landed two police officers in the hospital with head and face injuries,” Hendry stated. “By ignoring their injuries and dismissing the incident, the mayor has sent a disgraceful message to every police officer who serves this city, and a dangerous message to every person who might be looking to attack a police officer in the future.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul additionally weighed in, saying in a publish, “Our 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.”
The NYPD stated its investigation into Monday’s incident stays ongoing.
With reporting from Dean Moses
