New York City police investigating after officers were hit with snowballs during a snowball fight

[Jilly_in_VA]

New York City police are investigating after officers were pelted with snowballs while responding to a massive snowball fight at Washington Square Park in Manhattan.

A video of the fracas shows two uniformed officers pacing a walkway in the park Monday as snowballs fly at them from all directions, hitting the officers and covering them in snow.

The officers, growing visibly frustrated, shoved at least two people to the ground as snowballs continued to whizz by. At one point, a person runs up behind an officer and mushes some snow onto his head. One of the officers can be seen rubbing his eye toward the end of the video.

In a statement Tuesday, the New York Police Department said multiple uniformed officers were struck in the face with snowballs and were “removed by EMS in stable condition” to a nearby hospital, but did not disclose additional information on their injuries.

Jessica Tisch, the city’s police commissioner, called the behavior “disgraceful” and “criminal” and said the department is investigating. Police have released images of two people the department is searching for in connection with the incident, asking for the public’s help to identify them.

https://apnews.com/article/snowball-fight-nyc-police-f10453245ed0b9eeda41f66b5ce2e928

Why do they care so much about a SNOWBALL FIGHT, FFS? And why make such a BFD about it? Why get the cops involved in the first place? I don't see any reports of anyone else ending up in the hospital!

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Monumental cry babies

That is all!

[Jilly_in_VA]

2. That's what I thought

Just cry babies. And blowing it all out of proportion.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. So two of the Police Officers in my borough

And I were laughing about this yesterday afternoon. Then again - they do community policing, read books at story hours, have Parties with a Cop for kids, etc. etc.

They would have welcomed it after the 24 hour emergency readiness. Like - have some JOY folks.

[lame54]

24. They all are...

They look for reasons to charge somebody with assault instead of letting slight resistance go like a real tough guy would

[cbabe]

3. Join ice if you need to whine about snowballs.

[Tim S]

4. You try to do YOUR job while being hit in the face by a barrage of snowballs

You have no idea what’s inside them. You’re just trying to do your home and get home to your family. Imagine if the police were delayed trying to respond to YOUR call because they got delayed dealing with these half-wits. I say “Throw the book at them!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

10. good bit

[AStern]

25. How should they have stopped a snowball fight without getting hit with one?

It beats getting shot at with bullets.

[Tim S]

28. It's not like they were plainclothes, c'mon.

[GenThePerservering]

6. Stray into the middle of a massive snowball fight...

get hit by snowballs. Then cry. OK, Big Men.

[stopdiggin]

11. not what happened. but, OK - let's make the story about what we WANT it to be

(LE had been directed to the scene - among other things)

[a kennedy]

7. and OMGAWD, YOU'DA THOUGHT THEY KILLED THEM.

Faux Noise had some EX NYC cop on and he was actually having a stroke at how bad this was……oh and the new Mayor?? he says, just laughed it off. It was a freaking snow ball fight.

[flvegan]

8. "So anyway, I started blasting."

Kind of surprised this wasn't the response.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. They had a huge opportunity to do the "community outreach" that cops say they want to do, but god forbid you forget

who's in charge around here.

[stopdiggin]

12. they arrive, under orders to quell disturbance - and are immediately bombarded

how bout you figure out the 'community outreach' approach here .. ?

"Please good citizens! We beseech you to cease throwing ... " - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[Jilly_in_VA]

13. Disturbance? PLEASE

It was a big ol' SNOWBALL FIGHT. That's their "disturbance"? Come on, man!

[WhiskeyGrinder]

14. They were not "under orders to quell a disturbance." Someone called 911 "disorderly conduct in the park." They show up

and see a community snowball fight, organized on social media, and decide to walk right through the middle of it. Like...come on.

[GenThePerservering]

16. Snowball. Fight. Try to keep up. nt

[stopdiggin]

38. Yep. Just a fren'ly lil old snowball fight ... (with cops and squad cars surrounded and pelted)

All good natured fun here!

[yardwork]

15. The hypocrisy is mind blowing.

Suddenly the right wingers care again about the police? I can't keep up.

January 6: attacking police officers with bear spray and clubs is perfectly fine.

NYC: attacking police with snow balls deserves criminal punishment.

[Renew Deal]

17. Here's a video

[Jilly_in_VA]

18. Their presence was unwarranted

and the guys were shoing them how much it was. If they hadn't been there in the first place, none of this would have happened.

[Renew Deal]

20. Isn't this blaming the victim?

[MichMan]

30. If city employees don't want to be pelted with snow and ice while at work, they should just find a new job, right?

[stopdiggin]

39. and we will bend over backwards to defend - any and every manner of opposition ... (including assault ?)

Stand by while we construct an argument centering on free speech - right to assembly, yada, yada ..

Oh yes, and - "The cops shouldn't be here !"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

[Sogo]

19. Wet, heavy snow packed into a ball becomes ice, which can be very injurious to whomever is the target of it.

I speak from the experience of having been such a target at one time.

I'm not defending any kind of over-reaction, if there was one, but just pointing out the reality of what's possible.

[Jilly_in_VA]

23. Really? Come on now.

[SocialDemocrat61]

22. The police forget who really runs this town

[Dave Bowman]

26. Snowflakes Hit By Snowballs. Sad.

[Jedi Guy]

29. Having watched the video, I feel like it's possible that all involved were acting like assholes.

Once the cops got on scene and saw that the "disturbance" was a playful snowball fight, that should've been the end of it. Radio dispatch, confirm no one is in danger, close out the incident, move on with your shift. Making a big deal out of what's essentially people playing is dumb.

On the other hand, people following the police and pelting them with snowballs is kind of shitty. They're leaving. Let them leave. Harassing them for the sake of it is just childish and shitty behavior.

That said, the video linked in this thread doesn't show anything prior to the officers walking out of the park so I haven't seen an objective look at what took place before the cops decided to leave.

Not every situation has clear-cut good guys and bad guys. Sometimes everyone involved acts like a shitty human being. This might be one of those times.

[Jedi Guy]

35. "Someone called the police. The police had to respond. They couldn't just ignore the call..."

Of course they couldn't just ignore the call. I used to be a police dispatcher (not for the NYPD) so I'm very aware of how police operate in general.

The point is that I've yet to see the start of the interaction. Maybe the officers threw their weight around as cops sometimes do and that provoked the crowd to become antagonistic. Maybe they didn't and they were super nice and the crowd just acted like clowns because that's what people in crowds sometimes do. Jury's still out on that one. So either or both of the parties here could be the asshole.

I agree that it wasn't necessary. It was stupid and petty and childish. But it also looks pretty dumb for the NYPD to say officers were transported by EMS after getting hit with snowballs. The department would've been better served just ignoring this incident if possible and, if they couldn't just ignore it, kick out a statement to the press and move on. So again, both sides look pretty childish here.

Believe me, I'm well aware that a significant chunk of the left (and also DU) is pretty anti-police. I've seen the "ACAB" and "FTP" nonsense on the regular around here. I've seen the rush to judgment when there's an officer-involved shooting, facts be damned. I would dare to say there's no "looks like" about it when it comes to disrespecting the police and the job they do. That kind of silliness makes it easier for the right to lay claim to the "law and order" and "pro-police" labels.

It'd make a lot more sense to me to condemn the bad cops and respect the good cops. But that's not where the left is these days.

[stopdiggin]

40. solid post. solid reasoning. too bad more people here aren't practicing ... - - -(nt)-

[Wonder Why]

33. Anyone want to volunteer to be in a snowball fight, get hit and badly injured in the fight by an iceball

then say "Go home, officers. Your help is not needed". I'm amazed at some of the cruel comments here about officers. Save that for ICE who spray and beat the innocent just because.

[Jilly_in_VA]

34. Moral of the story

Don't call the cops because people are having a big snowball fight in the park.
That's all.

[Melon]

36. It wasn't simple snow balls. It was packed ice and

Huge snow and I chunks getting thrown into their head. I know personally that I would have responded well to some idiots chunking ice chunks into my head. At the end of the day being a cop is a job. They are hired by the cities. People have lost their way.

[Iggo]

41. Snowflakes.