"A sea of young men in ski goggles gathered, armed with phones in one hand and balls of ice in the other. Cannonballs of snow flew across the sky. Others backflipped off snowmen or wrestled on the snow. The scene was of good-natured pandemonium. But it started getting chaotic once people were throwing gigantic blocks of ice."
"Within an hour, there were 911 calls about teens climbing a park building and pelting those inside, and the New York police department increased its presence in the park. But the dozen or so officers received an icy reception. They were swarmed and pummeled with snowballs. Social media was later flooded with images of snow raining down on officers."
"The Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the largest New York police union, said the snowball fight was unacceptable and outrageous and called for arrests. All of our city leaders must speak up to condemn this despicable attack. The police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, called the incident disgraceful and criminal."
During a February 23 blizzard, Instagram chatshow Sidetalk organized a snowball fight in Washington Square Park that attracted hundreds of young people. The event began as good-natured fun with participants engaging in snowball fights and playing in the snow. However, it escalated when people started throwing large ice blocks and climbing park buildings to pelt those inside. Police responded to 911 calls and were subsequently swarmed and pelted with snowballs by participants. Multiple officers were injured and hospitalized. City officials, including the police commissioner and governor, condemned the incident as criminal and unacceptable, while the Police Benevolent Association called for arrests.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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