It’s always fun to escape into the world of fantasy. One of the best ways to do this is by donning a costume. A costume instantaneously gives you a new identity, a new way of interacting with the world. What costumes don’t give you is license to act like an idiot. Sadly, many people aren’t aware of this little fact, and have decided that a costume is the perfect excuse to commit depraved, bizarre, criminal, and hilarious acts. Here are 15 people arrested while wearing costumes.
Superman vs. The Sidewalk
Superman is pretty much the quintessential superhero. Possessing superhuman strength, the power of flight, and a bunch of other nifty stuff, he is definitely a handful for all but the most nefarious of supervillains. Alas, his iconic skintight blue costume does not bestow these same powers upon us mere earthlings, as Maksim Katsnelson of the Bronx found out. Adorned as the Man of Steel, Katsnelson lay down in front of the Trump International Hotel & Tower at Columbus Circle in Manhattan, eventually attracting the attention of the NYPD. Katsnelson refused to comply when officers instructed him to remove himself from the sidewalk because he was obstructing the flow of traffic (honestly, it’s SO annoying when people are lying in the sidewalk), and was subsequently sprayed with pepper spray, possibly laced with kryptonite, and hauled off to jail.
Batman (and others) vs. The LAPD
Like any major city, Los Angeles has its fair share of crime. But crime is what superheroes combat — it’s basically their main objective. Therefore, it seems somewhat counterproductive for the LAPD to crack down on the amount of superheroes populating Hollywood Blvd. While superheroes are immune to many things, economic woes is not one of them; apparently many of these would-be do-gooders took to the streets to pose for pictures with tourists in exchange for tips in order to earn an extra buck. Crime-fighting, albeit a noble profession, is often not the most lucrative, so it’s understandable that these caped crusaders would try to earn a dollar or two pimping themselves for pictures while they rode out the economic downturn. Unfortunately, the police were having none of it, and a squad of officers descended on Hollywood Blvd. and arrested all unlicensed (how do you get a license to dress as a superhero and take pictures with tourists?) heroes. Among those arrested by the LAPD were Batman, Spider-Man, and a slew of others. Apparently, concerned tourists had complained that the costumed pan-handlers were becoming increasingly aggressive in their search for tips.
Captain America vs. A Burrito in His Pants
A good rule of thumb is not put anything consumable down your pants. It’s just generally not a good place to store things you might want to eat later. Apparently they don’t teach this as Superhero University, because a doctor in Florida dressed as Captain America was arrested by police with a burrito stuffed into his baby blue tights. A costume party of medical “professionals” spilled over into a bar one Saturday night in Brevard County, Fla. and things began to get SO crazy that the man dressed as Captain America figured it was in keeping with the spirit of the night to stuff a burrito down his pants and harass women at the bar by asking them if they wanted to touch it. When one woman declined, Captain America whipped the burrito out of his pants and began groping her. Ah, the ol’ “burrito in the pants” maneuver, a tried and true pick-up technique. As “hilarious” as the stunt was to everyone drunk enough to find sexual-harassment “funny,” the police in Florida obviously didn’t share the same sense of humor. They promptly arrested Captain America, who upon arriving at the station was caught attempting to flush a joint down the toilet.
Cat Woman vs. The Smoke Stack
The environment is a precious and fragile thing, so it is wonderful that there are so many people dedicated to protecting and preserving it. But if you are serious about the environment, and in turn want to be taken seriously, it is probably best not to dress up like Cat Woman. Celeste Draisner did exactly that before deciding to scale her way up a 125 ft. smoke stack to protest the reopening of the Knauf Fiber Glass plant, which had previously been shut down for environmental concerns. Draisner was afraid that the plant, once reopened, would endanger lives. Draisner’s lawyer was unsure as to why she donned a Cat Woman outfit, but pointed out that her client “had risked her life to save the lives of others,” which is honestly a pretty superhero-esque thing to do.
Superman vs. the LAPD (again)
Another casualty of Los Angeles’ raid on the caped crusaders who swarm Hollywood Blvd. was Christopher Dennis, who has dressed up as Superman for many years. He was arrested by officers and charged with loitering. Dennis, who starred in the documentary Confessions of a Superhero, was passing out fliers for a memorabilia shop when officers arrested both him and a man dressed as Batman (who was also handing out fliers because pamphleteering is really a two-person job). Unlike the previous superheroes arrested by the LAPD, Dennis and Batman were actually doing a job and not pan-handling. Though, Dennis did stop and pose for photos with tourists who asked because “it would be rude to say no.” Dennis claims that although he made no mention of tips, tourists were tipping him anyways (which is just standard protocol when you ask to have your photo taken with someone dressed as a superhero).
Spider-Man vs. The Shoplifter
It’s nice to see people dressed as superheroes doing superhero-y things instead of being arrested for crimes they should be stopping instead. Michael Baulderstone, a comic book store owner, was dressed as Spider-Man for an International Free Comic Book Day (wow, this is the most awesome day ever) event, when he noticed a customer behaving suspiciously in the back of his store. Baulderstone caught the man putting a copy of the X-Men Omnibus into his backpack and confronted him. Two men dressed as Jedis and one dressed as Flash aided the effort to apprehend the crook by blocking the doors to the shop. After a bit of a scuffle, Baulderstone managed to detain the shoplifter and called the cops. Apparently the thief misunderstood the rules of International Free Comic Book Day works, because despite the name the day doesn’t give you license to just waltz in a comic book store and just take any comic book from the racks. Hopefully that will clear things up for him.
Stormtrooper vs. NYU Students
Why do people think that dressing up in costumes gives them the right to sexually assault people? It doesn’t, a fact that 27 year old vagrant Dorothy MacSwoon had to learn the hard way. 10 NYU students accused MacSwoon of groping, fondling and harassing students while dressed as a Stormtrooper, and they were acts which had been committed over the course of two years. Upon arresting MacSwoon, police discovered her role-playing blog, which featured numerous pictures of a scantily clad MacSwoon posing with her Stormtrooper helmet on. If the internet has taught us anything, it’s that the list of existing fetishes is a long one, and ultimately taking soft-core pics while wearing a Stormtrooper helmet isn’t even close to the most bizarre or twisted fetish out there. But even so, WTF? Who gets turned on by a girl wearing a Star Wars helmet? Nerds, probably.
Winnie the Pooh Mugs Two Men in Tokyo
Winnie the Pooh is a lovable, honey-obsessed bear who pals around the Hundred Acre Woods with Christopher Robin, Rabbit, and a host of other creatures. He is rotund and adorable and would never, ever, mug two poor Japanese men in a park in Tokyo. But you know who would? Masayuki Ishikawa (no relation to the San Francisco Giants player). Ishikawa woke up one morning, ate a light breakfast, donned a Winnie the Pooh suit and sauntered off to the park, where he mugged two men and stole around 18,000 yen (that’s about $200) before Tokyo officers caught and arrested him. When asked why he committed such a strange crime, Ishikawa replied that he “felt annoyed and wanted to terrify them.” A Winnie the Pooh suit is basically the least terrifying thing ever, but probably anything can seem scary when it’s mugging you and stealing your money.
Israeli Spider-Man vs. Commuters
We all have those moments where we wake up and have no idea where we are, how we got there, and why we’re wearing a Spider-Man costume. Well, that last part doesn’t happen too often, but it did occur to an anonymous Israeli youth who woke up in a hospital wearing one. Upon waking, the youth took to the streets. Having discovered that he lacked his web-shooting devices, he improvised by collecting two long pieces of rope. He then proceeded to a busy thoroughfare, where he began jumping on cars and whipping his makeshift web-shooters at car windows, harassing Israeli commuters. The police were quickly called to the scene and brought the amnesiac Spider-Man to a station for an investigation. It was there that the youth explained that he had no idea where the costume came from. Still, you have to admire his dedication to upholding Spider-Man’s spirit by embracing the mysterious costume and doing his damnedest to emulate the famous wall-crawler. That’s dedication!
Woman in Cow Costume Frightens Children
Some people attempt to honor the spirit of the costume they’re wearing, like the Israeli youth for instance, while others choose to pervert and desecrate it. Michele Allen falls squarely in the latter category. Dressed as a cow, one of the most docile and peaceful of our barnyard friends, Allen trotted off to a busy intersection where she proceeded to commit a laundry list of offenses. Allen was charged with chasing children, blocking traffic (this is kind of cow like), urinating in public, and yelling at police. Initially, the officers simply sent Allen home, but after receiving calls that a woman dressed as a cow was blocking traffic in the exact same intersection as before, the police re-arrested her and sentenced her to one month of jail time. Allen’s actions probably turned a lot of children into vegetarians that day, or at least made them afraid of hamburgers for the rest of their lives.
Man in Monkey Suit Arrested in Australia
Trying to bring joy to people can backfire and get you arrested, so it’s best to just not try at all. Brenton Green, 21, learned this the hard way when he donned a monkey suit and attempted to entertain city shoppers in Perth. Green was posing for photos, hugging people, waving and dancing much to the delight of shoppers when two officers on bicycles stopped and decided to question him. The officers asked for his name, to which Green responded by shaking his head and making monkey noises. When the officers asked a second time, he replied “Monkey,” at which point the officers pushed him up against a shop window and handcuffed him. A police spokeswoman claimed that officers intervened after they saw Green bump into several people and knock a hamburger from a man’s hands (bummer about the hamburger). For attempting to brighten people’s day, Green was forced to spend twenty-four hours in jail before being released.
Santa Claus Tries to Kidnap a Little Girl
Oh man, this girl is going to hate Christmas for, like, ever. A 12 year old girl was walking to school when Anthony Russo, dressed as Santa Claus, attempted to kidnap her. Russo was lurking in the bushes when, as she passed by, Russo jumped out and tried to pull her into the shrubbery with him. When that failed, Russo gave chase to the girl and tried to grab her arm before she went into a store and reported the incident to one of the employees. Police later found Russo, still in the costume, carrying a sack, a box of candy canes and a unicycle with Christmas decorations. This just proves once again that all people who ride unicycles are terrible and like to ruin happy things like Christmas for little girls.
Mickey Mouse and Crew Arrested for Trying to Get Better Wages
Anybody who has been to Disneyland is familiar with the costumed Disney characters that prance merrily about the park, much to the delight of children aged 4-8 everywhere. But one needs to eat, and it’s hard to survive on a diet consisting solely of the smiles of wide-eyed kids. The men and women who portray these characters day-in and day-out staged a labor protest for better wages. With many dressed as the Disney characters they were hired to portray, nearly 600 protestors marched from a Disney-owned hotel to the park and attempted to block the entrance. Police were dispatched, and told the protestors to clear the street. While most complied with the officers’ requests, the few who refused to move were arrested by the police. The whole incident was truly in keeping with the spirit of “The Magical World of Disney.” Honestly, how traumatic would it be for a child to see Mickey Mouse arrested?
Man Dressed as Grim Reaper Poops His Pants, Gets Arrested
Getting drunk is pretty fun, but you have to be careful because bad things can happen during states of inebriation. A pretty good example of this is Christopher Kelly, who was arrested in a Grim Reaper costume after a drunken night out. Kelly was celebrating a friend’s birthday party when he lost his group. He wandered over to the beach, but the boggy sand proved too much for him and he lost his shoes, pants and jacket. In quite the predicament, Kelly noticed that the town hall across the road had an open window, which he proceeded to climb into. While going through several rooms in search of attire, Kelly managed to crap himself, and disposed of his soiled underwear. During his search, Kelly managed to find a Grim Reaper costume which he donned before leaving the town hall. He then wandered drunkenly about for several hours before he stumbled upon a police station. Although the station was unmanned at the time, Kelly waited around three hours before officers came back and arrested him.
Man Dressed as a Breathalyzer Arrested for Drunk Driving
Oh, the irony. Theodore Piel, 24, was coming back from a Halloween party, still dressed in his breathalyzer costume, when police officers pulled him over for speeding, tailgating, and driving an unregistered vehicle. Upon approaching Piel’s window, the officers noted that Piel’s eyes were very glassy, and there was a strong odor of alcohol emanating from him. Piel failed the field sobriety test, and was brought into the station for booking. Once at the station, Piel refused to take a breathalyzer test. While handcuffed next to a police officer at his desk, Piel got the brilliant idea to delete the report the officer was typing up on him. Very smooth Mr. Piel, very smooth indeed. Because of that little maneuver, Piel was charged with obstructing justice and unlawful use of a computer in addition to his DWI charge. All in all, it was a pretty big bummer of a Halloween for Theodore Piel.
