The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, led by leftist Alvin Bragg, said it would not pursue an assault charge for a 27-year-old man who is accused of hurling chunks of snow and ice at New York’s Finest earlier this week.
Gusmane Coulibaly, who NYPD officers arrested on Thursday, was initially charged with assaulting a police officer after a mob of people surrounded officers at Washington Square Park on Monday and launched snowballs at them. His other charges of obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct were also downgraded. The only charges prosecutors are willing to pursue are harassment and a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of governmental administration, the New York Post reported.
The New York City Police Benevolent Association, a union representing over 50,000 active and retired NYPD officers, blasted the district attorney’s office over its decision to drop the assault charge for Coulibaly. Patrick Hendry, the president of the union, accused Coulibaly and three other suspects who are still wanted of placing rocks in the snowballs before launching them at police officers.
“So why wasn’t assault charged? Why was harassment charged? Why do they feel that that didn’t cause an injury to a police officer, which he clearly, clearly has an injury below his eye?” Hendry asked.
Two NYPD officers were treated at the hospital for lacerations to their faces after they were hit with the snowballs.
Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Victoria Notaro told the court that prosecutors would have a difficult time proving that Coulibaly was responsible for the minor injuries to the officers, according to the Post.
Thursday’s arrest over the snowball ambush was Coulibaly’s second run-in with law enforcement this month. The NYPD said that the 27-year-old man was arrested “less than three weeks ago for attempted robbery in the transit system.”
This morning, the NYPD arrested Gusmane Coulibaly, 27 years old, for assaulting our officers earlier this week in Washington Square Park.
Mr. Coulibaly was previously arrested less than three weeks ago for an attempted robbery in the transit system. pic.twitter.com/IHO2zTC4tr
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) February 26, 2026
The decision from the district attorney’s office to drop the assault charge comes after New York City democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani downplayed the mob’s actions, saying earlier this week, “I can just tell you from the video I saw it looked like kids at a snowball fight.”
Mamdani’s office told The Daily Wire on Thursday that the mayor does not believe any action during Monday’s snowball ambush of police officers “rises to the level of criminal charges.”
“As the mayor has said, police officers deserve to be treated with respect. The videos he saw showed a snowball fight that got out of hand,” Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec said.
The mayor’s stance on the incident is at odds with other New York officials, including the city’s Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and New York Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul. Tisch called the mob’s actions “criminal,” while Hochul said it is “never acceptable to throw anything at a police officer.”
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