Men sue over snowball arrest

NEW YORK, March 10 (UPI) -- Four young New York men charged with criminal possession of a weapon are suing police for false arrest following an incident that started with a snowball.

Johnathan Rodriguez, 22, Manuel Rondon, 18, Christian Perez, 19, and Ariel Lopez, 17, said they were playing in the snow during a February storm when a snowball got away from them and struck a man in the leg, the New York Daily News reported Wednesday.

The young men said the man, who they claim did not identify himself as off-duty transit Officer Adonis Ramirez, pulled out his gun and aimed at it at them.

"I thought he was some drug dealer who was going to shoot me in the head and walk away," Perez said. "We only hit him once, and it was by mistake."

Ramirez called for backup and the men, along with a 15-year-old whose name was not released, were arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon. The charges against the 15-year-old were dropped in Family Court.

Neil Wollerstein, a lawyer for the men, said he is planning a $10 million lawsuit against the city for false arrest and malicious prosecution.

The criminal complaint against the group says Ramirez was walking from a friend's apartment to his car when the young men hit him with several snowballs. The complaint says Ramirez drew his gun and identified himself as an officer after the group began running toward him and he heard one say, "Let's jump him," in Spanish.

However, the men said only one member of the group speaks Spanish.