Cops recommend store security measures

Efficient crowd control, clear communication and thorough planning can help prevent a repeat of the deadly Black Friday stampede that left an employee dead at a Valley Stream Wal-Mart, Nassau County police said in a report released Wednesday.

The report was based on discussions at a Dec. 15 closed-door meeting at police headquarters in Mineola. About 75 representatives from department stores and malls attended.

The meeting was prompted by the November death of Jdimytai Damour, a Queens seasonal worker trampled by a throng of bargain-hungry shoppers as they spilled into the discount store. Wal-Mart officials attended the meeting, but a spokesman declined to discuss any changes planned for security at the Valley Stream store or how to better manage large shopping crowds.

Nassau police will respond and assist when needed, "but the responsibility for the security and control of these sales events rests with the store," the Wednesday report said.

"Store administrators should never market a sales event without having a plan, and the proper resources to manage it."

Among the report's recommendations:

* Begin planning months before the sales event

* Make sure enough trained employees are on hand

* Ask the police for "intensive patrol," and alert officers of large or unruly crowds

* Communicate with waiting customers with signs and announcements

* Set up barricades or rope lines that reduce the risk of a crowd surge or stampede

* Hand out wristbands or numbered tickets as customers arrive

* Allow customers to enter in small groups

*Have automated external defibrillators, and AED-trained staff, on hand

By JOSEPH MALLIA (Newsday)
Posted Wednesday, December 31, 2008

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