Alvin Bragg scraps charge against YouTuber accused of assaulting NYPD during snow storm

Gusmane Coulibaly, 27, was originally arrested on charges of assault on a police officer as well as obstruction of governmental administration and disorderly conduct after an incident earlier this week where a mob pelted NYPD officers with snow and ice, placing a few in the hospital. However, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to go after Coulibaly on the cop assault charge when the suspect was arraigned on Thursday.

The other charges that were filed against Coulibaly were also downgraded to harassment as well as obstruction of governmental administration as a second-degree violation and misdemeanor, according to the New York Post.

After the incident took place earlier this week, NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani claimed that the mob of ruffians hurling the snowballs at the NYPD officers were just "kids," and was slammed by the police union over his comments, in which he referred to the incident as a "snowball fight."

President of the Police Benevolent Association, Patrick Hendry, said that the incident was “an attack on the uniform these police officers wear every day."

“This was a grown adult that was here. Our police officers went to this location, on the rooftop, for a disorderly group, came down, and they were surrounded by hundreds of individuals who then attacked all police officers," he added.

Hendry said that Coulibaly, as well as three suspects still on the loose, had used rocks packed into their snowballs before throwing them at officers. “So why wasn’t assault charged? Why was harassment charged? Why do they feel that that didn’t cause an injury to a police officer, which he clearly, clearly has an injury below his eye?" he said.

An officer who was struck in the face during the incident had tenderness as well as pain near his left eye on his face, but the DA's office said it would be hard to make a case that “that the injury was obtained directly from the defendant."

Coulibaly has been granted supervised release pending the trial over the lesser charges. He is also due in court on March 15 for an alleged attempted robbery of an individual on the subway. He is due back in court for the snowball incident on April 9.