Fourteen people have been arrested and four police officers are being treated for injuries after a SantaCon in New Jersey.
The annual pub crawl in which people dress in Santa Claus costumes or as other Christmas characters descended into chaos in the city of Hoboken on Saturday.
Police chief Ken Ferrante tweeted: "That's 4 officers needing medical aid, & some wonder why I condemn this day!. No other day like it entire yr in @CityofHoboken . Those that cause it need to be pay the consequences."
Mr Ferrante said that one man was charged with aggravated assault for dislocating an officer's thumb during a brawl – but was processed and released in time for another round of drinks.
Blood @ JohnnyRockets brawl. 2 P.O's exposed to combatant's blood, so they need to be treated. That's 4 officers needing medical aid, & some wonder why I condemn this day!. No other day like it entire yr in @CityofHoboken . Those that cause it need to be pay the consequences.
— Chief Ken Ferrante (@KenFerrante) December 15, 2018
He said that six arrests occurred in an hour but the total number of 14 was down from 17 at the event last year.
The department received 429 calls between midday and 4am – far more than the 282 it got last year.
We did have 4 officers who needed medical treatment. 1) Det. J. Quinones suffered a dislocated thumb. 2) Sgt. @W_Collins_ was punched in the jaw. 3) & 4) Sgt. E. Drishti & Officer M. DePalma had to be decontaminated after getting a lot of blood on them from combatnts at a fight.
— Chief Ken Ferrante (@KenFerrante) December 16, 2018
Two other officers had to be taken to hospital after "getting a lot of blood on them" and one officer was punched in the jaw, Mr Ferrante wrote.
He added that one sexual offence was reported when an arrest was made.
Police also handed out 33 summonses for public drinking and urination – down from the 52 they issued during last year's chaos.
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SantaCon, which is sometimes referred to as Santarchy and Santa Rampage, began in San Francisco in 1994 and was inspired by a Mother Jones article on the Danish activist theatre group Solvognen, which invited volunteers to dress up as Santa to spread holiday cheer.
The New York SantaCon is the largest, with an estimated 30,000 people participating in 2012. By comparison, just two people were arrested during the New York event last week, Patch reported.
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