Manhattan DA Bragg Drops Felony Cop Assault Charge in Snowball Case

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office dropped a felony assault charge against the 27-year-old man arrested in connection with a massive snowball fight in Washington Square Park that sent two uniformed cops to the hospital, an incident that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani dismissed as “kids at a snowball fight.”The suspect, Gusmane Coulibaly, had initially been charged with felony assault on a police officer in connection with a raucous snowball fight in Greenwich Village on Monday. Videos from the incident circulated on social media showing NYPD officers being hit repeatedly in the body and head with snowballs, at close range, by a throng of young people, which Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called “disgraceful.”But during Mr. Coulibaly’s arraignment at Manhattan Criminal Court Thursday evening, Mr. Bragg’s office declined to pursue the felony assault charge — a decision that enraged Police Benevolent Association president Patrick Hendry.“This was a blatant attack on the uniform that they wear so proudly every day,” Mr. Hendry told reporters after the arraignment.Mr. Coulibaly, a content creator who goes by the name “Diaper Man” and has hundreds of thousands of followers across many social media platforms, still faces two charges: misdemeanor obstruction of governmental administration and second-degree harassment. Mr. Hendry said one of the officers, identified as “PO Johnson,” is suffering from pain and tenderness near his left eye as a result of the snowball incident.In a statement, Mr. Bragg’s office said prosecutors were unable to establish that Mr. Coulibaly directly contributed to any specific injury to one of the police officers.But Mr. Hendry claimed those at the snowball fight “came after these police officers, pelting them with ice, rocks.”“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?” Mr. Hendry told reporters on Thursday. Mr. Coulibaly is still facing two other charges — misdemeanor obstruction of governmental administration and second-degree harassment — which, if convicted of both, are punishable by just over a year in jail.Mr. Coulibaly’s defense attorney, George Vomvolakis, told reporters that what he saw in the videos “didn’t look like an attack.” “I don’t want to minimize what happened to the officers, but I think the police department is using this because of their dislike or disdain for the mayor.”Mr. Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, told reporters earlier this week he did not believe anyone should be charged in connection with the incident. “I can just tell you from the video I saw, it looked like kids at a snowball fight,” Mr. Mamdani said.He continued to downplay the incident on Wednesday, telling reporters that what he observed was “a snowball fight.”“It should be treated accordingly. It was one that got out of hand. But that’s what it was,” Mr. Mamdani said on Wednesday.Mr. Coulibaly was not asked to enter a plea and was released Thursday. He is due back in court April 9. Mr. Coulibaly was arrested in the Bronx three weeks ago for “attempted robbery in the transit system,” in which he used “verbal threats” in the robbery attempt, a law enforcement source tells The New York Sun. But Mr. Vomvolakis said that the arrest stemmed from one of his client’s “elaborate videos,” in which Mr. Coulibaly approached a stranger in a Bronx subway and said he was owed money. Mr. Vomvolakis said he expects that charge to be dismissed. The NYPD is still seeking three other individuals in connection with the Washington Square Park incident.A retired NYPD lieutenant and host of the podcast New York’s Finest: Retired & Unfiltered, John D. Macari Jr., tells the Sun he remained “furious” over the city’s handling of the snowball incident and Mr. Mamdani’s public remarks.“New Yorkers should understand Zohran Mamdani’s NYPD no longer engages in crowd control; the crowd controls them,” Mr. Macari adds.

Manhattan DA Bragg Drops Felony Cop Assault Charge in Snowball Case

Manhattan DA Bragg Drops Felony Cop Assault Charge in Snowball Case

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