The end of the year activities in San José, concluded with unfortunate violent events. In the case of the traditional horse parade “tope”, a participant created the problem when he began beating on police officers with a whip.

Apparently the man, of last names Pizarro Espinoza, was drunk and had been creating some problems during the activity, when he was left behind by the parade he was approached by officers who asked him to keep moving and he reacted violently, whipping them.

Two police officers were injured, one of them received a headbutt from the man’s horse, another had an injured wrist, while other officers were wounded by the whip.

The police officers responded with their nightsticks and eventually were able to arrest the man.

The carnival also closed with violence when a group of drunken people threw glass bottles and cans to the police officers that were present during the last concert.

“Once the carnival concluded, the police officers took their positions to safeguard the area of the concert, so people could enjoy the activity safely. At a given point a group of people began throwing rocks, cans and glass bottles to the officers”, explained Enrique Arguedas, subdirector of the Public Police Force.

The police were forced to call off the concert that was taking place in Paseo Colón; two officers were injured and 14 people were arrested.