The fallout over an unruly mob pelting NYPD officers with snowballs continued on Tuesday afternoon as the department released images of two teens wanted for hurling the white stuff.
NYPD
The fallout over an unruly mob pelting NYPD officers with snowballs in Washington Square Park on Monday continued on Tuesday afternoon as the department released images of two teens wanted for hurling the white stuff.
According to the NYPD, the teens intentionally struck the officers who arrived at the historic green space on the afternoon of Feb. 23 to break up the large gathering. The cops were hit with ice and snow in the head and back of the neck.
On Tuesday afternoon, police reported that the officers were evaluated at Northwell Greenwich Village Hospital for minor injuries.
This comes after Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch released a statement calling the viral incident “disgraceful” and “criminal,” and pledging an investigation. The outrage has only grown from police unions and several elected officials, many of whom are calling for their immediate arrest.
Several activists, like Bishop Boyde Singletary, however, are dismissing the incident as harmless fun.
“What happened yesterday was the kids having fun. The kids should be allowed to have fun, the kids should not be arrested for throwing snowballs,” Singletary said.
Rev. Kevin McCall, known for his anti-NYPD protests, joined his more conservative counterparts by pointing the finger of blame at Mayor Zohran Mamdani for inviting children to throw snowballs, and therefore, they should not be punished.
“He said that once I opened up the schools, I know that kids are mad at me and the students are mad at me, so when you see me, you can throw a snowball at me. That was his exact words, that he tweeted, that he said publicly, that he said on all his social media accounts,” McCall said. “The mayor has every right to say what he says, but he cannot call for individuals to be arrested, young people to be arrested, because he set the tone by saying those words.”
Mamdani responded to the incident on Tuesday by stating that cops “should be treated with respect,” adding that he himself is the only person who should be on the receiving end of a snowball. However, he stopped short of calling for a criminal investigation, as Commissioner Tisch and others have done.
That left the mayor receiving backlash from police union reps and others.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry admonished the mayor’s response as “A complete failure of leadership.”
In addition to calling on the Police Commissioner not to pursue criminal charges against those involved (after she announced detectives are looking into the matter), McCall announced that he and several others will be organizing a massive snowball fight outside of Gracie Mansion on Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re organizing, along with the young people, a massive snowball fight. When we see the mayor at Gracie Mansion, all those young people are coming to Gracie Mansion to throw a snowball at the mayor,” McCall said. “Join us as we go to the mayor’s house for the biggest snowball fight against the mayor at Gracie Mansion.”
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