NYPD who opened fire 47 times last year appeal for men who threw snowballs at them

The New York Police Department (NYPD) are hunting down two men suspected of throwing snow at them as officers tried to break up a snowball fight.

According to NYPD’s own data, their officers were involved in 47 police shootings in 2025. At least two New Yorkers were killed.

Now the same force has released images of two men holding snowballs – one quite large in fairness- after an icy brawl broke out in the city’s iconic Washington Park on Monday.

An NYPD spokesman said: ‘Wanted for ASSAULT ON A POLICE OFFICER: On 2/23/26 at approximately 4.20pm two uniformed police officers were inside Washington Square Park when two individuals intentionally struck the officers multiple times with snow and ice causing injury to their head, neck, and face.’

Video shows the moment police officers are pelted with the ice by the crowd of laughing youths.

The officers, growing visibly frustrated, shoved at least two people to the ground as snowballs continued to fly at the annual Sidetalk’s snowball fight.

At one point, a person runs up behind an officer and mushes some snow onto his head before sprinting off. At one point an officer is seen to whip out his taser.

One of the officers can be seen rubbing his red eye toward the end of the video.

They are then forced to walk back through another volley of snowballs from skateboarders trying to take cover behind a cafe entrance.

In a statement, the New York Police Department said multiple uniformed officers were struck in the face with snowballs and were ‘removed by EMS in stable condition’ to a nearby hospital.

Jessica Tisch, the city’s police commissioner, called the behavior disgraceful and said the department is investigating.

Several political figures in the city were quick to denounce the dustup, with many of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s critics seizing on the incident as evidence that respect for law enforcement has declined under the new mayor.

But Mamdani, in a post on X on Tuesday, wrote, ‘Officers, like all city workers, have been out in a historic blizzard, keeping New Yorkers safe and cars moving. Treat them with respect.

‘If anyone’s catching a snowball, it’s me.’

Police unions were also left fuming over the injuries and demanded justice.

‘Unacceptable and outrageous — this is the environment that NYC police officers are up against. Our police officers are being treated for their injuries, but the case CANNOT end there. T

‘The individuals involved must be identified, arrested and charged with assault on a police officer. And all of our city leaders must speak up to condemn this despicable attack,’ the Police Benevolent Association said in a statement.

‘What we saw in Washington Square Park today was not harmless fun – it was a deliberate, outrageous, and dangerous attack on uniformed police officers.’