Clark Griswold? A roof-clinging mannequin in Freehold spurs police visit
Photo courtesy of Kevin Maurer.
A seemingly innocent holiday decoration gag in Freehold Township prompted a visit from police early Saturday morning, according to The Star-Ledger.
Kevin Maurer, 36, wanted to shake up his holiday display this year, so in the spirit of the Clark Griswold’s mishap in the 80s classic National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, he placed a dummy clinging to the garage roof above a toppled ladder adorned with colorful Christmas lights.
A spotlight illuminated the mannequin, described in The Star-Ledger report as wearing “jeans, a sweatshirt, sneakers, a backwards baseball cap and a neon green ‘Jersey Strong’ backpack.”
While the homeowner, a sales director for the Work Out World gym chain, had his Christmas lights on a timer, cutting power at 11 p.m., he had forgotten to turn off the spotlight on the roof-clinging mannequin.
So a passerby drove by, noticed the “person” hanging from the roof of the darkened house, and called police.
Maurer tells The Star-Ledger that five police officers arrived at his door at 1 a.m. and asked him to remove the mannequin.
The delinquient dummy is now “retired,” Maurer tells Jersey Shore Hurricane News, residing on a “Jersey Strong” car in his driveway.
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