Arresting Superheroes: It’s Surprisingly Easy

There are a lot of things people can do to try and inspire hope.  You can donate publicly to charity to get others to follow your lead.  Volunteer at a soup kitchen.  Tutor inner-city school children, the list goes on and on.  But whatever you do, make sure it doesn’t freak people out, especially if you decide to dress up like a superhero and accost customers in front of a Home Depot.

Because no matter how good your intentions may be, a bunch of scared citizens will almost always result in someone getting arrested.  That’s exactly what happened to Matthew Argintar.  The 23-year-old New Jersey man was taken into custody after concerned members of the public reported Argintar to police.  He was sporting a mask and cape complete with bulletproof vest, arm pads, and a pair of handcuffs.  Argintar was reportedly asking people outside of Home Depot if they needed any help.  Why he chose Home Depot of all places to begin his romp into vigilantism is unclear.  Perhaps it’s the new cradle for organized crime in the east coast or maybe that’s as far as his super powers could get him.  Either way, apparently all Argintar was trying to do was, in his words, “inspire hope.”

Unfortunately for him, cops didn’t take too kindly to his Batman-esque plan.  They came down and swiftly arrested the Army veteran.  Though Argintar’s lawyer insist it was the public that was approaching his client, the fact remains that Argintar is now facing up to seven months in jail.  He’s been charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful possession of handcuffs.

We’ve discussed disorderly conduct in the past.  To review, the law generally prohibits any conduct that is likely to cause public alarm and/or annoyance.  The statute is viewed by many as a type of catch-all law used to prosecute anyone for nearly any behavior.  And most of the time, it’s not too hard to land convictions for the offense.

The problem in Argintar’s case is that it seems like police are really stretching the application of this rule.  From the facts available, it doesn’t seem like Argintar was doing anything that could be deemed disorderly conduct.

If it was a matter of his clothes, yes, he was dressed funny, some might even say menacing.  But the same could be said about most homeless people and, indeed, most people in general.  Furthermore, aside from Washington D.C., there aren’t any laws that regulate when people are allowed to wear masks.  If it was because he was allegedly offering help to people, again, when did offering assistance become tantamount to inciting a riot?

More troubling is his charge of unlawful possession of handcuffs.  While New Jersey law does prohibit selling handcuffs to minors, there doesn’t seem to be any local law that criminalizes owning, buying, or selling them to adults.  It seems like a police Hail Mary for sure.

Really, it appears Argintar’s only offense should be for bad timing.  It definitely wasn’t very bright of him to decide to become a masked superhero so soon after alleged gunman James Holmes murderous Colorado rampage during the premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises.”  Understandably, people are probably quite wary right now of anyone who looks out of place, especially if said person is clad in bulletproof body armor.

But to be fair, according to Argintar, he’s been donning his costume for months already, well before Holmes’ alleged massacre.  Furthermore, though people may be extra cautious of masked individuals right now, there hasn’t been any mass governmental edict against dressing strangely in public.  So hopefully, Argintar will eventually be cleared of his charges once things calm down again.