‘Cookie Monster’ arrested: A man wearing a Cookie Monster suit was arrested by New York City police after allegedly shoving a small child in Times Square.
Dressed as the popular “Sesame Street” character, 33-year-old Osvaldo Quiroz-Lopez posed for a photo with a 2-year-old, but things got out of hand after a confrontation with the child’s mother, the New York Daily News reported Monday.
Quiroz-Lopez, originally from Mexico, demanded that the mother give him a $2 tip for the photo, police told the paper.
The mother subsequently refused paying him, causing Quiroz-Lopez to lash out, pushing the child to the ground, according to The New York Post.
He was taken to the Midtown North police station and was charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Post.
Pix-11 television reported that the mother, who was not named, said people who dress in costumes at Times Square are generally quite aggressive. Another mother who was interviewed by the station said that people dressed in costume oftentimes stand in front of the Times Square Toys “R” Us store.
The Post pointed out that a man dressed as Spider-Man in Times Square was arrested in February for punching a woman in the stomach over a tip.
And over the summer, a man dressed as Elmo was arrested in Central Park for shouting anti-Semetic slurs.
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