New York City Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he does not believe anyone should be charged after a mob of people surrounded NYPD officers and flung snowballs at them Monday afternoon, sending multiple officers to the hospital with minor injuries.
Mamdani told reporters on Tuesday that he disagrees with calls for those responsible for the attack on police officers to be charged. The leftist mayor said the videos of the incident he has watched show nothing more than “a snowball fight.”
“I think there were two officers who were facing lacerations on their face,” Mamdani said. He was then asked if he would call for the prosecution of the people who pelted the officers with snowballs. Mamdani replied, “Look, I’ve seen the videos of this snowball fight. I think that it was a snowball fight.”
The mayor’s comments are at odds with other New York officials, including Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who called the mob’s actions “disgraceful” and “criminal.”
“The NYPD is aware of certain videos taken earlier today in Washington Square Park showing individuals attacking cops. I want to be very clear: The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal,” Tisch said. “Our detectives are investigating this matter.”
One video of the incident showed two of the police officers attempting to walk through the crowd as people slung snowballs at them and ran up behind them to dump large pieces of snow on their heads. Some people in the crowd stood in front of the officers as they tried to walk through the park, and the officers threw at least two people to the ground. Another video showed a group of police officers fleeing the scene as the crowd continued to hurl snowballs at them. No arrests have been made.
New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul condemned the mob that targeted police officers in New York City’s Washington Square Park.
“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,” Hochul said.
Meanwhile, Mamdani’s 2024 rivals, former Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo, called on the mayor to condemn the attack on police officers and ripped his past anti-police rhetoric.
“Words have consequences. 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,” Cuomo said.
Mamdani referred to those who pelted NYPD officers with snowballs as “kids” and was asked by a reporter if he knew that “for a fact or is it possible these were adults?”
“I can just tell you from the video I saw it looked like kids at a snowball fight,” the mayor said.
Mamdani also urged people to treat the city’s law enforcement with respect: “Officers have been on the front line of helping us respond to this blizzard. They have been keeping New Yorkers safe … they and our entire city workforce, of course, deserve to be treated with respect.”
“The only person in our city’s workforce who deserves to be treated with a snowball is me,” he added. On Monday, Mamdani said that students who were upset that he made the decision to have remote classes after the massive snowstorm could throw snowballs at him.
