How Not to Get Arrested at Mardi Gras

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(All photos from Thinkstock)

Last year over a million people, more than three times the population of New Orleans, flocked to Mardi Gras.

Most people think the booze-filled festival is a place to do whatever you want. Most people would be wrong.

Related: Missing Mardi Gras? Live Cam Takes You to Bourbon Street

With debauchery, comes arrests. And even during a festival that essentially requires attendees to leave their morals at home, there are several sure fire-things you can do to up your chances of ending up in the slammer. The New Orleans drunk tank is the last place you want to be this week. Just ask our friend Frank.

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Don’t be this guy. Everybody hates this guy.

“Fighting and public intoxication are the main causes of people being arrested during Mardi Gras,” Officer Frank Robertson of the New Orleans Police Department told Yahoo Travel.

But aside from the regular run-of-the-mill drunk and disorderly arrests, what else is likely to land you a night behind bars?

Throwing things at the parade floats

This is a big no-no and a pretty certain way of getting five police officers to pile on top of you.

The police view the throwing of anything (bottles, trash, beads) as extremely dangerous and will have you in the back of a cop car before you can blink.

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Watch what you do with those beads.

The one exception to this rule is the “Bead Float” that follows the parade, giving people the opportunity to discard any unwanted beads so they can be recycled for the following year.

Urinating in public

This should be obvious. It apparently is not since urinating in public is one of the main reasons people are arrested during Mardi Gras season.

Making the decision NOT to stand in that enormous line for the bathroom is likely to be a bad one. It is one of the easiest (and more humiliating) ways to end up sitting in the drunk tank with a $300 ticket.

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They may smell gross, but the drunk tank smells grosser.

There are plenty of Porta-potties situated along the parade route and most bars and restaurants will allow you to use their facilities for a small fee.

Getting naked

Public nudity is illegal pretty much everywhere in the Unites States and yet people seem to think Mardi Gras changes the rules.

No matter how exciting and freeing the experience of Mardi Gras might be, you need to keep your clothes on, or risk being hauled off in handcuffs.

“Last year I saw three women in the space of about an hour, getting arrested for flashing their breasts,” explained Claire Ford, a Louisiana native and MardiGras regular.

“I think lots of people think it’s ok and in the spirit of the occasion but the police clearly thought otherwise.”

According to the official Mardi Gras New Orleans website you can also be arrested for asking other people to get naked!

Doing drugs

Every year people are busted for openly dealing and consuming drugs during the festivities. Plain clothed police officers and dog teams prowl the crowd for the unsuspecting offenders.

So leave the disco biscuits at home and get high on the atmosphere instead.

Interfering with cars crossing Bourbon Street

Unfortunately, not all of the cities roads are closed off during the festival and many taxis and cars still have to cross Bourbon Street.

Resist the urge to touch these vehicles. Every year people are arrested for banging on the windows or hoods of these cars, or even attempting to rock them. You didn’t just win an NBA championship people. Behave yourselves!

Touching the police horses

They are awesome. They are massive. And they look really docile and approachable. But the one thing that gets the goat of a mounted police officer more than anything is when you mess with his steed.

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Keep your drunken mitts away from the police horses. Seriously.

That hilarious idea you get to spank the horse’s ass could land you in jail with an “Assault on a Police Officer” charge. Even the equines are considered a fully-fledged member of the police force and you, drunkenly hitting one, will not be tolerated.

Related: How to Spend the Perfect Night Out in New Orleans

They are there to provide a service and keep you and your friends’ safe. So look but don’t touch.

Keep your clothes on and your hands to yourself. You may leave your dignity in New Orleans, but you won’t leave with an arrest record.

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