Assaults on New York City police officers are climbing as rank-and-file cops warn that the Mamdani administrations hostility toward law enforcement is emboldening criminals and eroding public safety.
According to the New York Post, NYPD data show 253 assaults on officers in the first two months of the Mamdani administration, a 3% increase over the same period last year, and the trend has become a flashpoint in the debate over the citys direction.
The latest incident, in Washington Square Park, saw two officers pelted with snowballs and chunks of ice by a crowd that included grown men hurling projectiles the size of boulders, as video from the scene shows.
The criminals and even some people who are sitting on the fence take their cues from the politicians and the prosecutors, said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
They can say I assaulted a cop and [Manhattan District Attorney] Alvin Bragg wont prosecute me, he added, warning, I got the mayor advocating for me. So this is this is a golden opportunity. Its going to be a long, hot summer is my prediction.
Despite the chaos in the famed Greenwich Village park, there were no immediate arrests at the scene, a fact that further inflamed concerns among officers who already feel undermined.
Mayor Mamdani then repeatedly brushed off the incident as a mere snowball fight and kids fooling around, a characterization that drew sharp rebukes from law-enforcement experts, cops and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
A snowball fight is when you throw a snowball at me and I throw a snowball at you, said Chris Herrmann, a retired NYPD officer and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Its not a snowball fight. Its cops being attacked with snowballs.
Only later was 27-year-old YouTube personality Gusmane Coulibaly arrested and charged with felony assault in connection with the melee. But DA Alvin Braggs office tossed the assault count, leaving Coulibaly facing only harassment and obstruction of governmental administration a violation and a misdemeanor, respectively, rather than serious felony charges.
Coulibaly had already been arrested earlier in the month for an attempted robbery in the Brooklyn subway, which he claimed was a prank staged for social media. To many officers, his quick return to the streets after a series of alleged offenses exemplifies a revolving door justice system that prioritizes leniency over deterrence.
Commissioner Tisch, speaking at a promotion ceremony at One Police Plaza, made clear that she rejects the mayors casual framing of the Washington Square Park attack. Tisch declared she will not tolerate any attacks on my cops period, signaling a widening rift between the NYPDs leadership and City Halls progressive posture.
On the ground, veteran officers say Mamdanis rhetoric has left them feeling vilified rather than supported, even as they face rising hostility on the streets. Hes always told us that he doesnt like us, said one officer with more than two decades on the job, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. Now hes showing us that he doesnt like us.
Another longtime officer said the Washington Square Park incident was not some harmless winter prank but a calculated assault on law enforcement.
This was an ambush, the officer said, rejecting the mayors attempt to downplay the violence as youthful mischief.
Critics argue that the snow-and-ice attack is merely the most visible example of a broader pattern of disrespect and danger facing officers under the current political climate. They contend that when city leaders minimize such incidents, they send a message that attacks on police are tolerable, or at least not taken seriously.
Mamdanis record has long raised alarms among law-and-order advocates, who note that he previously called for defunding the police and used incendiary language during the 2020 BLM riots. On social media, he labeled officers racist, anti-queer, wicked, and a major threat to public safety, rhetoric that conservatives say demonizes the very people tasked with keeping the city safe.
Although Mamdani toned down his overtly anti-police messaging during the 2025 mayoral campaign, his alliances have continued to trouble police unions. They were particularly angered by his support for Jabez Chakraborty, a schizophrenic man who lunged at officers with a knife in January and was later visited in the hospital by the mayor, who said he should not face charges.
Chakraborty was ultimately indicted on attempted assault and weapons possession and held on $50,000 cash bail, a rare instance in which the justice system imposed meaningful consequences.
To many officers, that case underscored the disconnect between progressive political narratives and the harsh realities they confront on the street.
Recent high-profile assaults on NYPD officers have only deepened those concerns, including a brawl with Tren de Aragua-linked migrants in Times Square in May. In July, a female officers arm was bitten by a deranged suspect she was attempting to arrest in the Flatiron District, another reminder that the job is becoming more dangerous even as political support wanes.
Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry said the spike in attacks show why its dangerous for the mayor to downplay an attack on police officers. Assaults on our members have gone up because those who target police officers are becoming bolder and bolder, Hendry warned. They dont believe theyll face any consequences. The environment isnt going to change until the justice system and every leader in this city starts backing us up.
Policing expert Michael Alcazar, a retired NYPD detective and adjunct professor at John Jay, said the current climate leaves criminals feeling shielded from accountability. Criminals feel like theyre not going to get prosecuted, he said, describing the revolving door policy in which This guy, hes charged with [obstructing governmental administration] and hes out the next day. That sends the wrong message.
For conservatives and many in law enforcement, that wrong message is now playing out in real time, as assaults tick upward and officers question whether City Hall and the DAs office are on their side. They argue that unless New Yorks leaders abandon soft-on-crime policies, restore respect for the badge, and back up their cops with firm prosecutions, the city should brace for exactly what Giacalone predicted: a long, hot summer.
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