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Police union condemns Mamdani downplaying snowballs being hurled at NYPD cops

February 25, 2026 | | Print Article

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s (D) “snowball” slight against police officers found the criminal-coddling communist and his allies earning the ire of unions.

(Video Credit: PIX11 News)

Having yet to serve a full two months in City Hall, Hizzoner continued to dig a hole for himself that volunteer snow shovelers wouldn’t be able to help him out of — with or without two forms of identification. Insult was added to injury by the past promoter of the Defund the Police movement as his “disgraceful” insistence that a mob assaulting two officers “by hurling objects at them” was little more than “kids throwing snowballs.”

Monday, footage circulated on social media of an incident in Washington Square Park where a group, said to have included college students from the nearby New York University, surrounded two New York Police Department officers, pelting them in the head and body. On Tuesday, Mamdani addressed the assault that resulted in hospitalizations for facial lacerations by saying at a press conference, “From the videos I’ve seen, it looks like a snowball fight.”

Further belittling of the job of Gotham’s boys in blue found the mayor attempting to play off the incident as he wrote on X, “I’ve seen the videos of kids throwing snowballs at NYPD officers in Washington Square Park. 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.”

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Unfortunately for the mayor, who’d previously stepped up on behalf of a knife-wielding attacker alleged to have charged a police officer, police unions were having none of his political pandering.

A statement from Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) President Vincent Vallelong made the point, “Today it is snowballs. Tomorrow it could be rocks, bottles, or worse.”

“We cannot condemn strongly enough the recent disgraceful and dangerous attacks on NYPD Police Officers while responding to a 911 call in Washington Square Park. While some people may attempt to dismiss this incident as college hijinks or harmless kids throwing snowballs, the deliberate targeting of uniformed Police Officers by hurling objects at them while they perform their lawful duties constitutes an assault,” he went on, referring to the behavior of the alleged assailants as “reckless and unlawful.”

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“Perhaps a bigger question is why the mayor and other elected officials were so silent after this incident occurred?” asked Vallelong. “Why did we hear nothing from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg or NYU officials? We call on city leadership, prosecutors, and the courts to treat these incidents with the seriousness they deserve. Those who assault Police Officers in any way must face appropriate consequences.”

“Failing to do so sends the message that attacking an officer is acceptable behavior. It is not!” he reminded in no uncertain terms as NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch likewise stated, “The NYPD is aware of certain videos taken earlier today in Washington Square Park showing individuals attacking cops. I want to be very clear: The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal. Our detectives are investigating this matter.”

Similarly, as the NYPD shared images of two individuals alleged to have “intentionally struck the officers multiple times with snow and ice, causing injury to their head, neck, and face,” Detectives’ Endowment Association President Scott Munro issued his own statement calling on Mamdani and Bragg to pursue prosecutions. “No free pass. No get out of jail free card … Our men and women in blue deserve to be safe. They deserve to be protected. And they deserve to be respected.”

New York City Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry dubbed Mamdani’s statements a “complete failure of leadership … By ignoring their injuries and dismissing the incident, the mayor has sent a disgraceful message to every police officer who serves this city, and a dangerous message to every person who might be looking to attack a police officer in the future.”

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Those echoing the “disgraceful” description included New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R) and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who specifically pointed to Mamdani’s “history of calling the police ‘racist, evil, wicked and corrupt.'”

Kevin Haggerty
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