New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is being slammed for fostering anti-police hate after a mob launched snowballs at NYPD officers during Monday’s snowstorm.
Agitators were caught on camera hurling snowballs at police officers during a snowball fight involving hundreds of people in Manhattan’s Washington Square Park, the New York Post reported. The city’s police commissioner has opened an investigation into the incident.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and former NYC Mayor Eric Adams (D) were some of the first people to criticize Mamdani and blame his anti-police rhetoric for inspiring disrespect toward law enforcement.
“This is disgraceful. But with a mayor who has a history of calling the police ‘racist, evil, wicked and corrupt,’ he set the tone,” Cuomo said in a post to X on Monday.
“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,” he continued. “Real leaders understand that. This mayor does not. @NYCMayor must denounce this at once.”
Adams called the snowball attack “disgusting behavior.”
“Watching officers get pelted with snow while they are out in brutal weather protecting this city should make every New Yorker furious. It is disgusting behavior,” he said. “And the politicians who constantly bash the police and refuse to have their backs are setting a terrible example. Leadership matters. Tone matters.”
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) also condemned the incident and slammed Mamdani’s response.
“This is disgraceful. @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,” she said.
The Muslim socialist mayor ended up addressing the situation and urged New Yorkers to treat police 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 said.
Unlike Mamdani, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch is demanding consequences for those who pelted officers with snow.
“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. Our detectives are investigating this matter,” Tisch said.
Police had not confirmed whether any officers were injured, although City Council Speaker Julie Menin said several suffered facial injuries after being hit, according to the report.
“These are public servants who are out in the cold, in all kinds of conditions, to keep New Yorkers safe. Causing injuries to officers is not a game. We cannot normalize this kind of behavior in our city,” Menin said.
Law enforcement unions are calling for arrests.
“Unacceptable and outrageous — this is the environment that NYC police officers are up against,” the Police Benevolent Association said in a statement. “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.”
Detectives’ Endowment Association president Scott Munro said the snowball fight “was not harmless fun.”
“[I]t was a deliberate, outrageous, and dangerous attack on uniformed police officers,” Munro said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) issued a short statement on the incident.
“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,” she said.
Police officers were at the scene after an organized snowball fight with hundreds of people deteriorated into chaos, according to the report. Officers who responded to the scene were “tormented and pelted with snowballs at close range as they patrolled the park,” per the report.
“At one point, an agitator could be seen dunking a huge chunk of ice on an officer’s head before fleeing,” the Post reported. “The officers were forced to retreat into their SUV and were spotted driving out of the park.”
