What began as a playful snowball fight in the New York City quickly spiralled into controversy, putting Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the center of an unexpected clash with the police.
After a major snowstorm, a snowball fight at Washington Square Park, turn chaotic when some people allegedly threw snowballs at police officers.
The park, located in Manhattan's Greenwich Village usually attracts huge crowds for snow day fun, including snowball fights but this time the situation escalated when the New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers arrived after 911 calls.
Several videos, shared on social media accounts showed some people shouting insults and throwing snowballs at officers.
The NYPD later shared photos of four individuals, believed to be between 18 to 20 years, they claim threw snowballs and caused injuries to the officers.
After the incident, mayor Mamdani said in a press conference that the people involved should not face any charges, describing it as kids taking part in a snowball figth but at the same time urged residents to respect officers which led to criticism from police leaders.
Mamdani then tried to make a lighthearted joke by saying kids could throw snowballs at him for reopening schools after the blizzard.
However, some critics did not find the humour appropriate and felt his attempt to ease tension did not handle the situation seriously enough.
Police Benevolent Association (PBA) President Patrick Hendry said in a statement, noting, "The mayor has sent a disgraceful message to every police officer who serves this city. The mayor's response is a complete failure of leadership."
He added, "This was not just a 'snowball fight.' This was an assault that landed two police officers in the hospital with head and face injuries."
The police are now searching for four young individuals in connection with the incident.
