Mr. Alvarez, Mr. Esposito and a few friends towed the spoon to the Purdue building around 8 a.m. on Friday in a trailer emblazoned with an image of a skull. The police arrived before long and over the next two hours officers negotiated with Mr. Alvarez, telling him “your giant spoon” has to go. Finally a commander issued Mr. Alvarez a ticket for “obstructing free passage.” When he declined after that to remove the sculpture Mr. Alvarez was placed under arrest on a charge of “interfering with police,” the commander said. He was detained briefly before being released.