Superheroes are supposed to help fight crime, not create it. But that's exactly what four of so-called "super" heroes were doing when they were arrested over the weekend in Times Square, The Wall Street Journal reports.
To combat the growing trend of people supporting themselves by dressing up in popular superhero or cartoon character costumes and charging tourists who want to have their kid's photo taken with them, NYPD officers are now handing out flyers informing people that the service – a form of panhandling – is free, and that tips are merely discretionary.
"Operation Character Flaw," initiated by the NYPD, is intended crack down on what one law enforcement official called "aggressive entrepreneurship among costumed characters" over the weekend.
Three characters were arrested Saturday night outside of the New York Marriott Marquis, the WSJ reported.
Wilmar Suarez, a 32-year-old from Queens, who was dressed up as Spider-Man, was charged with aggressive solicitation and disorderly conduct for blocking pedestrians, police said. Suarez had also been arrested on July 26 for aggressive panhandling.
Javier Hernandez, another 32-year-old from Queens, was dressed as Iron Man when he was charged with disorderly conduct.
Jose Maria, 25, from Passaic, N.J. who dressed as Sesame Street's Elmo, was also charged with disorderly conduct.
Another Iron Man, Khalid Lahmadi, 40, was issued a summons for disorderly conduct, according to police.
The weekend operation comes after an increase of criminal incidents involving the characters.
A Brooklyn man dressed as Spider-Man was charged on July 26 for assaulting a police officer. According to police, an officer told a tourist who posed with Spider-Man that she wasn't obligated to give him any money.
Recent incidents have resulted in increased calls for regulations and licensing, reported the WSJ.
The police worked over the weekend with the Times Square Alliance, a nonprofit group representing businesses in the area, to hand out the flyersthat were written in five different languages. In addition to explaining that tipping costumed characters is strictly optional, the flyers outlined how a complaint could be filed.
Daniela Maia and her husband Tiago, both from Brazil, took a flyer and said the initiative is "interesting and helpful."
"I thought it was a law that you had to pay," Ms. Maia said.
Officers from the Manhattan South Patrol Borough, the Transit Bureau and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey were assigned to take part in the initiative.
"A lot of people were happy to find out they didn't have to tip," said an officer involved in the initiative. He said tourists had been under the impression that tipping the characters was mandatory.
