‘Evil Elmo’ street performer now ‘creepy’ Cookie Monster

The man known a decade ago in San Francisco as “Evil Elmo,” who dressed up as the “Sesame Street” character and harassed tourists along Fisherman’s Wharf, has been sighted in Santa Cruz, costumed this time as Cookie Monster.

While the man may have changed his choice of character, shedding the furry red Elmo outfit for the fuzzy blue Cookie Monster costume, he apparently hasn’t changed his ways, according to police.

People have called and emailed Santa Cruz police with complaints about a “creepy”

Cookie Monster who has allegedly been hassling people, particularly families with children, into taking their pictures with him then pressuring them, and sometimes intimidating them, to pay him.

The man in the costume with googly eyes has been reported in the areas of the Santa Cruz Wharf and along the waterfront.

Police said they believe the Creepy Cookie Monster is Adam Sandler, also known as Dan Sandler, the same person who gained infamy about a decade ago at Fisherman’s Wharf. He’s no relation to the actor of the same name.

Sandler is also doing nothing illegal, according to police, though they suggest people avoid the character despite his cuddly appearance.

“SCPD advises the public not to interact with this person in the Cookie Monster costume due to his history of unpredictable vulgar comments and troublesome behavior,” department spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke said in a statement.

Blaschke noted that the impostor Cookie Monster is neither paid for nor authorized by the city or any local businesses. But he is exercising his First Amendment rights, she said.

Nevertheless, anyone who observes the Cookie Monster behaving inappropriately, or claiming to be connected to the city or a local business, is urged to notify police.

When he was in San Francisco in the mid-2010s, Sandler gained infamy for donning the costume, unleashing aggressive outbursts at people who declined to tip him for photos, irritating merchants and hassling unhoused people.

San Francisco police arrested Sandler in November 2014 after he confronted a shop owner who had placed an anti-Elmo sign in her window. When the merchant refused to take it down, he reportedly threatened her, saying “I’m going to rip your throat out.”

Sandler earned the Evil Elmo moniker in New York, where he allegedly used anti-Semitic slurs while dressed as the character in Times Square.

In 2013, he was arrested for trying to extort $2 million from his former employer, the Girl Scouts. He spent a year in prison, and two Girl Scouts employees whom he was accused of harassing were granted permanent protection orders, the New York Times reported.