US officials on Tuesday condemned an incident in which they said New York police were injured when a crowd pelted them with snowballs.
Footage online shows two male officers being struck with snowballs on Monday afternoon as they walked through a park following the city’s largest snowstorm in over a decade.
Another video showed a large group following several officers, with snowballs hitting some in the back of the head as they walked towards their vehicle.
“Multiple uniformed officers were struck in the face with snowballs,” a New York Police Department spokeswoman told AFP.
She said the officers, who were responding to reports of a disorderly group in Washington Square Park, were taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment.
Detectives from the NYPD are investigating the incident, according to police commissioner Jessica Tisch.
“I want to be very clear: The behavior depicted is disgraceful, and it is criminal,” she wrote on X.
Kathy Hochul, governor of New York state, also criticized the incident.
“It is never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer, full stop,” she said.
City mayor Zohran Mamdani had not issued a public statement as of Tuesday morning.
The largest union representing NYPD officers called for the individuals throwing snowballs to be arrested and charged with assault.
“Unacceptable and outrageous — this is the environment that NYC police officers are up against,” the Police Benevolent Association of the City of New York said on social media.
A huge blizzard on Monday dumped 19.7 inches (50 centimeters) of snow in Central Park, according to New York City’s climate reporting station — the ninth biggest snowstorm ever recorded there.
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