A second suspect was arrested on Wednesday in connection with last week’s violent snowball fight in Washington Square Park, in which many police officers were struck and hurt by flying snowballs, according to police reports.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) charged Eric Wilson Jr., 18, with misdemeanor obstruction of government administration and harassment, according to Fox 5 New York. Wilson brought himself in on Wednesday morning, according to the New York Post.
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“This second arrest sends an important message,” Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association (PBA), said. “These shameful attacks on our police officers last week were serious. It wasn’t a game. It didn’t end when the snow melted. This was a vicious attack on our police officers and, our police officers, it had consequences on them.”
The snowball fight began last Monday as a planned event promoted on social media. As NYPD officers arrived to manage the crowd, they encountered snowballs that appeared to contain pebbles. Two police officers were treated for head and facial injuries at the hospital, according to the PBA.
Four people were photographed by authorities after the incident, and three days later, they made their first arrest.
Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, was the first suspect arrested and charged with criminal assault on a police officer.
However, prosecutors declined to seek a felony assault case, citing a lack of evidence that Coulibaly was directly responsible for the officers’ injuries, Fox 5 reported. The allegations against him were lowered to misdemeanor obstruction of government administration and harassment, according to the site.
According to the NYPD, Coulibaly was detained less than three weeks before the event for an attempted robbery in the transit system.
Hendry stated that the snowballs thrown contained ice and pebbles, injuring many officers.
“This was not just a ‘snowball fight.’ This was an assault — by adults throwing chunks of ice and rocks — that landed two police officers in the hospital with head and face injuries,” Hendry previously said in a statement.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch stated on social media that the participants should face penalties for their “disgraceful” and “criminal” behavior.
“I want to be very clear,” Tisch said. “The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal. Our detectives are investigating this matter.”
While New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani emphasized the importance of treating police personnel with respect, he declined to charge the individuals involved.
“As the mayor has said, police officers deserve to be treated with respect,” his spokesperson said. “The videos he saw showed a snowball fight that got out of hand. He does not believe this situation rises to the level of criminal charges.”
On the other hand, New York Governor Kathy Hochul took a harsher stance, stating that criminal charges looked to be necessary.
“Our police officers put themselves in harm’s way every single day, and there is no circumstance where it’s OK to throw anything at a police officer,” Hochul said, according to Fox 5.
