A man dressed as "The Joker" of the "Batman" franchise assaulted a civilian on Sunday, June 13, in another night of Washington Square Park chaos, as the public space remained open even as New York City imposed curfews.
The melee reportedly happened around the early hours of Sunday, June 13, after an unidentified man dressed as "The Joker" got into a heated argument with a 38-year-old victim. The frenzied masked man proceeded to ruthlessly beat him up before fleeing the scene.
The victim was shortly taken to Beth Israel Hospital for treatment and is now in a stable condition, reported New York Post.
A witness of the disturbance told the police that "The Joker" is a frequent visitor of the park and is seen frequently getting into arguments and fights with random strangers.
“[The] Joker guy is here every weekend in Washington Square Park,” he said. “I’m not sure if he’s homeless or what, but he’s here every weekend.”
New York City police instituted a curfew two weeks ago requiring that the park be closed to the public by 10 p.m on Friday through Sunday nights. The curfew was first instituted during Memorial Day weekend as neighborhood residents of the park complained about loud noises and prevalent drug use in the area.
However, the curfew has done very little to quell the crime and violence in Washington Square Park, as the public space continued to remain open to loiterers after the supposed time restriction.
A 76-year-old man’s bag, containing his wallet, credit cards, keys, and a cell phone, was reportedly stolen at the park on Saturday night, June 12. The victim had put down his bag to take his son’s picture before realizing that someone had swiped his belongings.
The rowdy and noisy groups in the area reportedly continue to blast music late at night, hosting dancing, drinking, and chain-smoking parties into the wee hours in the public park. Dozens of police officers are deployed to Washington Square Park every night but do very little to manage the crowds as they're routinely ignored and pelted with insults
“I don’t have a problem with the curfew,” a park partier who goes by the name G5 said. “Sometimes it can get inappropriate. But you have to give people a place to come back from after a year of being locked down.”
The police reportedly instructed people to leave the park premises shortly after 1:30 a.m. on Sunday. However, a small group ignored the orders and remained on the premises even after 2:30 a.m.
Over the weekend, nearly two dozen people were arrested in the area as eight officers were attacked, reported WABC-TV.
The city Parks Department confirmed that the decision to implement a curfew on the park was made jointly with the New York City Police Department. The agency did not comment on why the police failed to enforce the midnight closing time on Sunday.
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