A Spiderman costumed character was arrested in a scuffle with cops. Will this latest incident lead to a superhero crackdown? INSIDE EDITION reports from Times Square.
It's a costume character crackdown. Police are now keeping a watchful eye on the costumed figures who hustle for money in New York's Times Square.
The move comes in the wake of a Spiderman figure who was busted for assaulting a cop. Police said Spiderman, identified as Junior Bishop, punched an officer who tried to stop him from over-charging tourists.
The video of the arrest was obtained by the New York Post. In the video, Minnie Mouse, Mickey Mouse and Elmo watched from the sidelines.
Five more costume characters were busted Sunday amid claims that some of them were just too pushy.
INSIDE EDITION got hit up by a different Spiderman when we investigated the Times Square hustlers. Times Square was packed with these characters. There was Elmo and Cookie Monster, Iron Man, Hello Kitty, Super Mario and many more. And there was plenty of money changing hands.
Cookie Monster was not happy when one tourist told him she did not have cash.
A guy tipped one character and still got hit up by another.
The police crackdown seems to be working. None of the characters INSIDE EDITION spotted with our undercover cameras made a fuss about not being tipped.
INSIDE EDITION got mixed reaction to the characters from people in Times Square.
"I actually really like them," said one spectator. "They're kind of like their own little tourist attraction in Times Square."
"Sometimes they do treat tourists really ugly," said another. "For someone asking for money, you wouldn't expect them to act the way they do."
"I think they're fun and I think the kids love it and I think it's a great thing," said yet another.
See What People On the Streets of New York Had To Say
Other cartoon characters have had previous run-ins with the law.
A guy in an Elmo outfit was arrested for yelling anti-Semitic slogans in 2012.
"Jews are evil," he screamed.
And one mom said a Cookie Monster pushed her young son to the ground when she refused to tip the character.
"He started cursing at me, at my kids," said the mother. "Like really foul language, language that I cannot even use on camera."
Now, Spidey has become the latest cartoon character in cuffs.
