A prank at a Manhattan Gap saw a group of people sit still for five minutes and then freeze once the police arrived.
Improv Everywhere, a comedy troupe that solicits people to do collaborative public pranks, on April 13 dressed 40 people in mannequin outfits and had them pose in different parts throughout the clothing store on 54th St. and Fifth Ave.
The group’s founder, Charlie Todd, told the Daily News that many of the customers and employees had a good laugh, but five minutes later the police arrived after the store had called them. Many of the members were initially handcuffed but they eventually left the store and no charges were filed, Todd said.
“It was kind of funny; one of the officers had participated in a past event,” the 35-year-old Hell’s Kitchen resident said. “All we were doing was wearing a costume and standing in a store.”
The organization, which started in 2001, enlists people to do mass pranks that are intended to be positive and silly, he said. This was the first time the police were called since 2006, when the troupe sent a number of people in blue shirts and khakis and had them just stand around a Best Buy.
“The store’s security called 911 and [the police] said ‘you can ask people to leave but it’s no illegal to wear a blue shirt’,” he said of that incident. “You never know how things will work when you are in someone else’s place of business. The Gap never asked us to leave the store. I understand [shop security personnel’s actions]. We were doing something they had never seen before. We’re not mad at them and I hope they’re not mad at us.”
“The safety of our store associates and customers is always our main concern. When a recent in-store flash mob upset our customers, our team members followed protocol to restore order,” said a Gap spokesperson. “We are pleased to report that no customers, employees or mannequins were injured in this event.”
For the prank, the troupe selected men and women of thin build who were all about six feet tall so they would blend in with the real mannequins, Todd said. They were given white Morphsuits.
After walking into the store with Gap-style clothes over the costume, they all took their positions and then pulled the hoods over their heads.
Though many had fun with it, Todd said the best part for him was the customers that didn’t even realize what was going on.
“There was one person who tugged at a sweater one of the people was wearing,” he said. “He did not look at his face and just kept walking.”
Some of the models also chose to hold out their arms like the real shop dummies, which made for a painful five minutes, Todd added.
The group actually originally targeted clothing store chain UNIQLO for the prank, but the stores changed all their mannequins.
“There was no reason [for using The Gap] except their mannequins looked like the costumes we already had,” he said.
jlandau@nydailynews.com Follow on Twitter @joelzlandau
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