Police Respond To 12-Person Dispute Sparked By Santa Claus Water Skiing In Great Point

A man believed to be from Maine decided it would be a good idea in mid-December to dress up in a Santa Claus outfit and head down to the beach at the Great Point/Coatue area with several of his buddies to record himself water skiing while decked out in his red suit, hat, and thick, white beard.

What began as an innocent, playful idea to cap off 2024 ultimately led to verbal and physical altercations involving Santa, his friends, and a member of the Trustees of the Reservations who was not pleased about Santa Claus accessing the beach he was in charge of patrolling once he noticed Santa and his helpers did not have a beach sticker.

While the identities of the 12 individuals involved were redacted by the Nantucket Police Department in their report and no charges have been filed as of this writing against the two people who allegedly became physical, the details of what happened that ominous afternoon of December 11^th are well documented, survived the Nantucket Police Department’s redactions, and lived for the Nantucket Current to tell the tale.

Police dispatched to the end of Wauwinet Road just after 1:30 p.m. that day following the report of a physical altercation. NPD officer Travis Ray said in his report that the area of the scuffle (107 Wauwinet Road) is controlled and maintained by the Trustees of the Reservations, and that access to the area is granted by purchasing a sticker/decal for vehicles using the beach.

The area is patrolled by the Trustees during the day and when police arrived on scene, they saw a man in a Santa Claus suit standing outside of a red Toyota Tacoma with Maine license plates while barefoot. When police asked Santa to hand over some identification, he said he did not have his ID or wallet on him at the moment (because why would he?).

The Santa impersonator was eventually identified and as he spoke to police, an older white male approached while wearing olive green pants, a “High Vis” yellow/reflective jacket, and a grey baseball cap with the word “TRUSTEES” across the front. The older gentleman was eventually identified and stayed approximately six feet away from the police and Santa while Kris Kringle began to explain what had happened.

Just seconds into Saint Nick’s explanation, the Trustee interrupted “with a stern tone” that prompted Ray to stop both from talking. Ray asked the Trustee to return to his truck "to maintain order."

Once the angry trustee had been removed, Santa was able to explain his side of things. He told Ray that he and a number of his friends have been coming to the island for years and always make a trip to Great Point. He said that one of his buddies unfortunately missed this year’s trip, which prompted the rest of the gang to come up with a funny idea of making a video of Santa water skiing while being towed behind a truck that was driving on the beach.

Santa said they picked the Great Point area because it offered the best wind break and calmer waters but admitted none of the vehicles in the group had beach access stickers for this area.

Santa continued on with his story and said that while they were preparing for the water-skiing stunt, he saw the Trustees truck pull up to them. He said the Trustee “got out and began to take pictures of their vehicles.” Santa told Ray he understood why the Trustee was taking pictures because he and his gang knew they were “technically trespassing on the beach.”

Santa said that the Trustee proceeded to approach the passenger side door of the red Tacoma and punched the window. Santa saw from afar that the man was mad, so he took off his skis and exited the water to ask him if everything was alright.

“(Santa) stated that (the Trustee) replied, ‘You’re f***ing trespassing. Get the f*** out of here,’” according to the report before the man continued on taking pictures. One of Santa’s helpers who was involved in this goofy-stunt-gone-wrong told the Trustee if he was going to film them, they would film him back. It led to the Trustee allegedly smacking the man’s phone and grabbing his hand, which prompted the man to allegedly push the Trustee up against the truck with a two-handed shove. When Ray asked Santa if he could get his friend out of the truck to talk to NPD officer Gwen Nelson, Santa said they had already left in a white truck.

In Nelson’s police report, she said she caught up with a female party in a white Chevrolet pickup truck with two other occupants. The female stated they weren’t involved in the situation but described the situation as if they had solely been witnesses – prompting Nelson to allow them to leave.

After the vehicle was allowed to leave, one of the Trustees said they wanted trespassing notices to be issued against the three occupants of the Chevy since they were, in fact, part of Santa’s group after all. It led to NPD Sergeant John Rockett having to intercept the white Chevrolet while he was already on his way to the scene. They were eventually pulled over and asked to return to the scene to be interviewed.

Ray then made his way over to the Trustee’s truck, which was a newer model Ford F250 pickup truck with the word “RANGER” in the front fenders and the Trustees of the Reservation’s logo printed largely on the drivers and passenger’s doors in yellow and green. According to the report, there were two trustees. One male and one female. The male said he saw the large group of people in several vehicles on the beach and as he got closer, could see they were going to try water skiing with a vehicle that did not have a beach sticker.

The Trustee said while he took photos, he informed the group they were trespassing and asked them to leave. He explained that one male member of the clan approached him with his phone out – forcing the Trustee to grab the man’s hand/cell phone to prevent it from coming closer to his face. He told police the man got within a foot or 14-16 inches of him with his phone/hand.

The Trustee said he was pushed in the chest by the male “really hard” and that it caused him to move backwards and hit one of the trucks behind him. This prompted him to end the conversation and call the police.

Nelson spoke with the man alleged to have pushed the Trustee and he gave a detailed explanation as to what happened.

"So we come down to the beach and (Santa, real name is redacted) is going to go skiing behind the truck on the beach. So, we were getting ready to videotape. He's in the water and the truck pulls up, the gentlemen jumped out and starts banging on that Red Toyota passenger side window. And then he starts taking pictures of us and I’m like, ‘Who the f*** is this guy,’ ya know, and he's obviously mad. So, I walk up, and I don't know who he is, so I take a picture of him like this (demonstrates by holding out his right hand with his phone pointed towards *Nelson* at face level) and he grabbed my hand, and you see the nail mark there and there. When I pulled my hand back, he just kind of fell back against the black truck (black Chevrolet) back there. And I was like, ‘Dude what are you doing?’ And I told him don't touch me again. Then I just got in our truck and drove off.”

The man reiterated to police he reacted off pure instinct and not intent. He said he did not think he pushed the Trustee and "did not intentionally push him."

Police asked the Trustee if he had any photos and/or video of the incident. The obtained footage was of the initial encounter as he approached Santa and his squad, but none of the video showed the alleged push.

Ray said when he spoke to one individual about the incident, the man told police he was “kind of laughing at first” but then when the Trustee began pounding on the truck window, he realized things were escalating and felt that "sh*t was going south” so he returned to his pickup truck about 80 yards away and did not see the altercation unfold.

Police ultimately felt assault & battery charges were warranted for two of the 12 people involved in the incident, but nothing has been filed as of now as they wait to see if the two parties would like to press charges.