NYC Police, Fire Brawl During Charity Hockey Match

A bench-clearing brawl between New York City police and firefighters — members of two departments with a long, storied and often bitter rivalry — broke out during a charity hockey game on Sunday.

The ugly melee between the NYPD and FDNY occurred during the second period of the match as the two departments' teams were tied 3-3 at the Nassau Coliseum ice rink in Uniondale, Long Island, N.Y.

In videos posted on YouTube and Instagram, players from cops and firemen were seen trading punches and shoving each other as hockey sticks and gloves lay scattered on the ice, according to Newsday.

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Referees struggled to break up the fighting as fans cheered from their seats, with some loudly chanting, “PD sucks, PD sucks,” as well as “Dun-kin' Do-nuts," a reference to the misplaced joke that police like to stop and eat donuts.

The fighting resulted in a 25-minute delay as referees had to draw up a list of players involved in the brawl, and then eject them from the game, the New York Post said.

“It was reminiscent of the old-time Rangers-Flyers games in the mid-70s,” quipped an NYPD cop to the Post. “I was waiting for [legendary Philadelphia Flyers enforcer] Dave Schultz to come out on the ice.”

The game eventually continued and the NYPD won 8-5, the NYPD's first victory after five straight wins by the FDNY.

The police department's hockey team made a two-word statement on its Facebook page Sunday evening about the game: "NYPD Victory!"

The Post reported that although several players had bruises or black eyes, there were no serious injuries.

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