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NFL reporter Ed Werder ripped New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday after the politician’s remarks about snowballs being thrown at NYPD officers.
NYPD officers were seen on video being hit while walking through Washington Square Park, according to multiple videos on social media. Officers responded to a call about a large, disorderly group in the park, an NYPD spokesman said. Some officers were left with multiple facial lacerations.
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks to reporters during a press conference in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Mamdani appeared to downplay the incident.
“How anyone wearing a badge stands next to this mayor, much less risks their lives for him, is beyond me,” the former ESPN reporter wrote on X.
Werder explained to critics that he always held law enforcement in high esteem.
“It doesn’t matter where you live. To treat the police with such disrespect is wrong,” he added.
Mamdani posted on social media earlier Tuesday that he saw the videos of the officers being pelted with snowballs.
NFL reporter Ed Werder at Dallas Cowboys training camp at River Ridge Fields on July 27, 2022. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)
“The officers, like all city workers, have been out in a historic blizzard keeping New Yorkers safe and cars moving,” Mamdani wrote on X. “Treat them with respect. If anyone catches a snowball, it’s me.”
No one has been arrested in the incident.
The Sergeants Benevolent Association (SBA) told Pakinomist Digital that while “some people” may try to dismiss the incident as “college hijinks or harmless kids throwing snowballs,” the deliberate targeting of uniformed police officers while performing their lawful duties constitutes abuse.
“We cannot condemn strongly enough the recent disgraceful and dangerous attacks on NYPD police officers while responding to a 911 call in Washington Square Park,” SBA President Vincent Vallelong wrote in a statement. “The conduct of the people who threw the snowballs, many of whom are believed to be NYU students, was reckless and unlawful and put the lives and safety of others at risk.”
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Vallelong added those who threw snow and ice at officers “cross[ed] a clear line.”
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