Bragg downgrades felony assault charge in snowball attack on NYPD officers

Just hours after a 27-year-old Bronx man was arrested Thursday on a charge of felony assault for injuring a police officer in a post-blizzard snowball fight, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg downgraded the alleged offense to a misdemeanor, officials said.

A check of Manhattan criminal court records late Thursday indicated Bragg’s office was charging Gusmane Coulibaly with obstructing government administration and disorderly conduct. The obstruction charge is a class A misdemeanor and the disorderly conduct charge a violation.

The misdemeanor is punishable by up to a year in jail and the violation by up to15 days in custody, compared with state prison time that could result from the original top charge of second-degree assault.

After his arraignment Thursday, Coulibaly was released and ordered to come back to court April 9.

He was allegedly part of a large group assembled Monday in Washington Square Park for a snowball fight announced on social media. After police received 911 calls about a large, rowdy crowd, officers arrived at the park and, according to officials and social media videos, were met by a hail of snowballs, including some pieces of ice.

Two officers were injured and suffered strikes to the head and face, requiring them to visit the hospital where they were treated and released, according to the NYPD and the Police Benevolent Association. Both officers had to stay home from work to recuperate, the PBA said.

The incident sparked questions about Mayor Zohran Mamdani's reaction, which critics said downplayed the altercation by describing it as nothing more than a snowball fight that got out of hand. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in a social media post called the pelting of the officers "disgraceful" and "criminal." Tisch also called on Bragg to prosecute the case.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Bragg said prosecutors were unable to prove that one of the officers named in the complaint suffered any physical injury directly caused by Coulibaly's conduct.

State law says it is a felony to interfere with the duties of a police officer, as well as other government officials, by causing physical injury. Under the law, injury is defined as an impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.

After Thursday's court appearance, PBA president Patrick Hendry said he was grateful there were some charges but that the injury to the officer, identified as "Officer Johnson," caused a welt below his eye, headaches and dizziness.

Hendry said the snowballs were packed with rocks and participants in the snowball fight were not young kids as Mamdani suggested.

"We are not happy," Hendry said.

Coulibaly had been arrested three weeks earlier for an alleged attempted robbery on the subway in the Bronx, the NYPD said. A video purported to be made by Coulibaly at the time and circulating Thursday showed that the alleged robbery attempt was something he called a prank. But the subway matter got out of hand and lead to his arrest by transit cops, the authorities said.

He pleaded not guilty to the Bronx charge and is due back in court March 16.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.