Assault charges dropped in Washington Square Park snowball fight that injured 2 NYPD officers
After reviewing the evidence, the Manhattan DA's Office says they are unable to prove the officer was directly injured by Coulibaly’s actions.
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The Manhattan District Attorney's Office says that they have dropped the assault charges against a 27-year-old Bronx man arrested for throwing snowballs at NYPD officers in Washington Square Park.
Police arrested Gusmane Coulibaly on Thursday. He was initially charged with assaulting a police officer, obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct.
After reviewing the evidence, the Manhattan DA's Office says they are unable to prove the officer was directly injured by Coulibaly’s actions.
Coulibaly is still facing charges of obstruction of governmental administration and harassment.
They say Coulibaly was arrested two weeks ago on an attempted robbery charge.
The Police Benevolent Association called the snowball fight an “attack on police officers.”
President Patrick Hendry said, “This was ice chunks. This was rocks. And this was an attack on police officers. This was a message that was sent, in regards to anyone who dares put their hand on a New York City police officer. That you will be arrested now.”
Opinions among parkgoers were divided. Michael Etheridge expressed sympathy for the officers.
“There’s a lot of kind of anti-police sentiment at the moment. It’s unfortunate because people are just trying to do their jobs. Obviously, the officers, I’m sure, didn’t want to be out on a snowy day trying to police people,” he said.
Others viewed the incident as an overreaction.
Debbie Nathan called the arrest “disgusting.”
“It looked like a fun snowball fight. The idea that people are being arrested for that is disgusting to me,” she said.
Another parkgoer, Elicia, said, “I think they should respect the police officers. I don’t believe they should have done that. Maybe give them a summons or they should pay something, but not to that extreme. You mess up somebody’s life with that.”
The incident renewed discussion about how to handle such confrontations in public spaces. While police insist that the arrest sends a clear message about attacking officers, Mayor Mamdani continues to downplay the event, calling it “just a snowball fight,” a stance that police say fails to recognize the severity of the attack.
