NYC Blizzard Led to a Massive Snowball Fight, and an Arrest

In what may be the softest “assault” case of the year, the New York City Police Department is investigating after officers were hit by snowballs during a large snowball fight in Washington Square Park.

Video from the scene shows two uniformed officers walking through the park as they’re pelted with a snowball barrage flying in from every direction. They’re hit repeatedly and seem visibly irritated.

Thus far, one man has been arrested.

The officers shoved at least two people to the ground as the barrage continued. According to police, several officers were struck in the face and later transported by EMS to a hospital, some of reporting to have received some minor cuts to their faces.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called the behavior “disgraceful” and “criminal.” The department released images of two people they are seeking to identify. The head of the Police Benevolent Association framed the incident as a serious assault, criticizing Mayor Zohran Mamdani for downplaying it.

Everything We Know About the NYC Snowball Fight Incident

Mamdani urged New Yorkers to respect officers who had been working through a historic blizzard: “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.”

He added that from the footage he’d seen, “it looks like a snowball fight.” Later, he questioned whether criminal charges were warranted.

From the look of it, it was, in fact, just a snowball fight, not a malicious act at all, and perhaps a thing police officers should have walked into the middle of. The idea that this constitutes a public safety crisis is a bit of a stretch.

Sometimes a snowball fight is just that. And sometimes the toughest response to one, even one where a couple of cops got some minor cuts, is brushing it off.

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