Controversy Over Snowball Attack on NYPD Officers

Former Governor George Pataki has criticized Mayor Zoran Mamdani and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for downplaying recent ice and snowball attacks on NYPD officers.

Pataki expressed frustration, noting it’s not surprising that a recent poll indicated that a third of New Yorkers are contemplating moving away. He remarked, “They’re framing it as just a snowball fight, but that’s not accurate.” Speaking on 77 WABC Radio’s “Cats Roundtable,” he emphasized that what occurred was “an assault on a New York City police officer” involving not just snowballs but also rocks and ice. “This was an intentional attack…and yet our city and state are doing nothing,” he added.

Mamdani characterized the incident at Washington Square Park as an “unruly snowball fight,” which resulted in two police officers being hospitalized. The NYPD had to step in to manage the situation.

“What I said about the snowball fight is that it got out of hand, and there’s not much more to say,” the mayor stated during a press briefing last week.

Following the incident, Bragg’s office opted not to file assault charges against a suspect, 27-year-old Guzman Coulibaly, citing a lack of evidence that he physically harmed the officers. However, Coulibaly is facing other charges.

Pataki argued that this lenient approach reflects a growing disregard for public safety and quality of life issues. He pointed to the locking of drugstore items due to prevalent shoplifting and the presence of mentally ill individuals on the streets as further evidence of the problem.

“What drives me crazy and makes my blood boil is that this is all preventable,” he said during the radio interview.

Vincent Vallelong, president of the NYPD Sergeants’ Benevolent Association, warned that disrespect toward police could intensify with warmer weather, as it sends the wrong message to the public.

“The deterioration of what happened in Washington Square Park is going to be magnified as the mayor trivializes these assaults,” Vallelong remarked on the same radio program. He emphasized, “This was an illegal act… It wasn’t just kids. It was a mob… They showed disrespect and assaulted police officers. Why is there reluctance to call this an assault?”

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch also condemned the attacks on police officers.