Times Square Spider-Man arrested for punching NYPD officer

Times Square Spider-Man arrested for punching NYPD officer

Street performers in New York make their living off their tips, but they are not supposed to ask for them.

A series of events on Sunday led a street performer in New York Times Square to punch a police officer. He was dressed as Spider-Man, the popular Marvel comic and movie superhero.

 A woman decided to tip the 25-year old performer, Junior Bishop $1 for the picture she had just taken with him, but that amount was not enough. He refused the $1 bill and demanded a larger denomination in exchange. When a police officer overheard, he told the woman she could tip whatever she wanted, according to a detailed police account.

Street performers in New York make their living off their tips, but they are not supposed to ask for them. After the police officer reminded Bishop of this rule, Bishop said, “Mind your own business.”

The officer placed him under arrest after he said he could not give the officer any identification because he did not have it on him. Bishop dodged the officer when the officer attempted to grab him and punched the officer in the face, say police. A YouTube cell phone video shows he refused to cooperate with the police for quite some time before being successfully apprehended.

The New York Times reported that the New York police have been cracking down on these type of minor crimes. Other street performers that have been arrested recently include another Spider-Man for punching a tourist who had pelted him with snow (also a result of her not tipping him for a photo), an Elmo who used anti-semitic language and a Cookie Monster who pushed a two-year-old after his mom decided not to tip for a photo.

Bishop was charged with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

This is at least the second time Bishop has been arrested, the other time for very similar misconduct, according to the New York Times.

The officer was treated for swelling around the eye and a cut on his face at New York University Medical Center.

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