A snowball fight in New York's Washington Square Park on 23 February has led to the arrest of two men after police officers were pelted with snow and ice. The event, organised via Instagram chatshow Sidetalk, drew a crowd of mostly young people armed with phones and snowballs. Witnesses described the scene as good-natured pandemonium, but it turned chaotic when participants began throwing blocks of ice.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) increased its presence after reports of youths climbing a building and throwing snow at those inside. Officers were swarmed and pelted with snowballs, and the police union, the Police Benevolent Association (PBA), called the incident 'unacceptable and outrageous'. Two officers, Nicholas Johnson and Salvatore Stallone, suffered injuries including redness, tenderness, and pain to the eye.
Police commissioner Jessica Tisch described the behaviour as 'disgraceful' and 'criminal', while governor Kathy Hochul said throwing anything at a police officer is unacceptable. However, mayor Zohran Mamdani dismissed the videos as 'kids throwing snowballs', joking that he would be the one catching them. The PBA condemned his response as a 'complete failure of leadership'.
Two men, Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, and Eric Wilson Jr, 18, have been arrested and charged. Coulibaly was initially charged with a violent felony but the charge was dropped due to insufficient evidence. The incident has highlighted tensions between the progressive mayor and the NYPD, which Mamdani had previously criticised as 'racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety'.
