A man charged and released for allegedly injuring two NYPD officers in a snowball fight in Washington Square Park earlier this week had previously been apprehended for harassing people in a subway station.
Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, was arrested earlier this month for harassing passengers in a Bronx subway station over money they allegedly owed him as part of an ongoing hoax for his YouTube channel.
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Coulibaly’s previous arrest in the Bronx stemmed from pranks he was shooting in the subway.
In a YouTube video made under the name “Diaperman,” Coulibaly pretended that strangers owed him money and embarked on a five-city tour to “see which borough has the most crash outs.”
His efforts led to his arrest in the Bronx, where he was handcuffed after pestering a person on the subway station mezzanine.
Coulibaly is seen in a video asking a victim, “When are you going to pay up the money?” The victim said it was a case of mistaken identity. What do you mean, you don’t know me? “What is funny?” he asked in the video.
When he allegedly threatened the man, stating, “If I get mad, I’m going to have to run your pockets,” two plainclothes policemen intervened and arrested him.
Coulibaly was arrested on Thursday night and charged with hindering governmental administration and harassment, according to authorities.
During the arraignment, prosecutors stated that they cannot yet show he caused the officer’s injuries; therefore, he was not charged with assaulting a police officer, but the investigation is ongoing. Coulibaly pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor harassment and obstruction allegations.
Following a brief arraignment, the court released the 27-year-old on supervised release.
The PBA is incensed by the choice for supervised release. “PBA President Patrick Hendry questioned why they believed there was no injury to the police officer, despite the fact that he sustained an injury below his eye. It did not look like an attack to me. What I observed in the video did not appear to be an attack. Did it go beyond jokes and fun? Was that perhaps a touch disrespectful to the police? “Yes,” defense counsel George Vomvolakis replied.
He is the first of at least four people identified in cellphone footage to face charges following Monday’s altercation in Washington Square Park, which injured two NYPD officers and left several others covered in snow and ice.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani has argued that there was no proof of a crime and that no one should be charged. On Friday, he reiterated that the incident was “a snowball fight that got out of hand” and would comment further on lesser crimes being prosecuted.
Meanwhile, a vehement NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch informed police at a promotions ceremony that she “certainly will not tolerate any attacks on my cops, period.”
“Don’t allow the loudest voices in the room to erode the pride you have in wearing the uniform and in protecting this city,” she said, without elaborating who she considers to be the loudest voices.
