Easter Bunny brawl stuns kids

[BarryH]

Source: http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060418/NEWS0110/304180001/1085

 

Easter Bunny mall brawl stuns kids

By Grant Boxleitner

gboxleitner@news-press.com

Originally posted on April 18, 2006

 

Days after a holiday weekend brawl allegedly prompted a mall Easter Bunny to remove his plush head and punch a woman, some children still think the popular rabbit is more frightening than friendly.

 

But the man who was fired Monday from his job portraying the cotton-tailed character at the Edison Mall denied assaulting the woman and pleaded for understanding.

 

It’s not easy being a bunny, said Fort Myers resident Arthur J. McClure, 22.

 

McClure, who stands 6 feet, 2 inches and weighs 280 pounds, faces battery charges after he allegedly punched Erin Johansson, 28, of Cape Coral in the back of the neck and head during a fight near a photography set.

 

In boxing circles, that’s considered a rabbit punch.

 

McClure said Monday he didn’t punch the woman. He said he was trying to split up two women who were fighting, including his wife, exhibit manager Crystal Frechette.

 

There was no way, McClure said, to get through the long line of people who wanted their children’s picture taken as the exhibit was preparing to close Saturday.

 

He said he was hot — McClure had worn the bunny costume for nine hours and couldn’t stand wearing it any longer.

 

“My shirt was soaked with sweat,” McClure said. “I almost threw up.”

 

The melee shocked customers, mall employees and the company that hired McClure and Frechette. Mall management issued an apology to parents and children.

 

Golden, Colo.-based Noerr Programs Corp., which contracted with the mall to run the Easter bunny photo set, fired McClure and Frechette on Monday.

 

“(The terminations) were a result of the incident that was embarrassing and uncomfortable for the mall patrons,” Noerr spokesman Charlie Russell said.

 

The couple, released from the Lee County Jail on Sunday, have a May 2 county court hearing.

 

The incident began shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday when Johansson was waiting in line with her family and several others at a public Easter Bunny photo set near entrance G.

 

When the exhibit closed about 10 minutes early, some of the customers in line, including Johansson, got upset and questioned Frechette, 25, police said. The two women got into an argument before Frechette punched Johansson in the right side of her face, according to police reports.

 

Before the punch, Johansson said she told Frechette it wasn’t 8 p.m. yet, but she and McClure started walking away with people still in line.

“At that point she sucker-punched me in the jaw,” Johansson said.

 

“She had the worst attitude, and I don’t think she wanted to be confronted.”

 

After the punch, Frechette pulled Johansson’s hair, and they both fell to the ground, according to Fort Myers Police arrest reports. That’s when McClure, who was still in the Easter Bunny costume, came to his wife’s aid.

 

McClure took off the head part of the costume and then punched Johansson in the back of the head, police said. Dozens of people watched the brawl, including about 15 children who were still in line, witnesses said.

 

Johansson said many children had the look of shock on their faces. She said she doesn’t know how to explain what happened with the Easter Bunny to her 3-year-old niece.

 

Johansson was holding an ice pack on her face when officers arrived, police reports show. She said she underwent a CAT scan at Lee Memorial Hospital, which showed no internal injuries.

 

“It was horrible,” said husband Robert Johansson, 34, whose son Victor, 8, also saw the fight. “They were trying to shield the kids from it. Now my son thinks the Easter Bunny is bad and went to jail.”

 

But McClure and Frechette tell a different story. They said the customers began yelling at them when they started to close down, then followed them as they walked toward a nearby mall office.

 

Frechette accused Johansson of poking her in the chest and said she was in front of a group of angry people.

 

Frechette, who acknowledged she punched Johansson, said she got scared when customers started “calling me names and swearing at me.”

 

McClure said he just tried to break up the fight.

 

“That’s when two guys grabbed me,” he added. “I wish people were more understanding.”

 

McClure and Frechette — both of 3840 Central Ave., No. 208 — were charged with misdemeanor battery and disturbing the peace, police said. McClure’s occupation listed on the arrest report reads “Easter Bunny,” but the two said they used to work at Silver Spoon/The American Cafe in the mall.

 

Frechette said officers didn’t listen to her side of the story. She suffered a bruise on the back of her leg during the scuffle and was threatened by the group, she said.

 

She and her husband plan to retain a lawyer.