By Andrew Hackmack
Jdimytai Damour of Jamaica, Queens, was knocked to the floor as customers rushed into the Valley Stream Wal-Mart shortly after 5 a.m. Nov. 28.
Damour was pronounced dead an hour later at Franklin Hospital. According to a Wal-Mart spokeswoman, he had gotten the job through a temporary-employment agency.
At a press conference on Monday, Nassau County Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said that preliminary reports indicated that Damour suffocated as a result of extreme pressure to the chest, "which means he was in fact trampled to death." Mulvey explained that after Damour was knocked down, hundreds of customers rushed into the store, stepping on, over or around him.
Mulvey said that Damour was knocked down in the vestibule between the exterior and interior sets of doors. He said that there was a "surge" in the crowd of about 2,000 people that likely contributed to the incident. Other employees protected themselves by climbing on top of soft drink machines in the vestibule to avoid a similar fate.
Though police are still investigating the cause of the surge, Mulvey said that one likely explanation is that while some shoppers waited on the line to get into the store, others stayed in their cars to avoid the cold. When those people saw the store about to open, they headed toward the doors and, Mulvey theorized, those who were waiting on line pushed toward the doors out of fear that the newcomers would cut ahead of them in line.
Mulvey said that in his opinion, the store did not have adequate security. He said that several employees, including Damour, were responsible for crowd control even though they were not trained security guards. The police are reviewing the surveillance video of the incident, Mulvey said, in order to determine whether the store had enough security personnel.
Two weeks before Black Friday, large store owners were told by Nassau County Police that security was up to them. Mulvey said that the organization of security to deal with large sales is not the responsibility of the police department. In the expectation that there would be large crowds, however, six officers and one supervisor were patrolling the Green Acres mall property that morning. A single officer usually patrols the area at that time of the morning.
Mulvey said that there were about a half-dozen other early store openings at Green Acres to watch over as well.
Hank Mullany, a senior vice president of Wal-Mart, said he believed that proper precautions had been taken. "We expected a large crowd and added additional internal security, additional third-party security, additional store associates, and we worked closely with the Nassau County Police," Mullany said. "We also erected barricades. Despite all of our precautions, this unfortunate event occurred."
Though it did not represent Damour, the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 has called for an immediate investigation by local, state and federal agencies. Union officials said that if employee and customer safety were the store's top priority, Damour would not have died.
"This incident was avoidable," said Bruce Both, president of the union. "This is not just tragic; it rises to a level of blatant irresponsibility by Wal-Mart."
Damour had assisted in the construction of the headquarters of Richner Communications, the parent company of the Herald, which opened in 2006. According to Stanley Ricks of KRP Electronics in Farmingdale, Damour worked at the site for three weeks, installing computer and telephone wiring - a job he also found through a temp agency.
"He was a very good guy," Ricks said. "He was just a cool guy trying to make a living." Ricks described Damour as a hard worker who showed up early every day, and said he was saddened to learn of his death.
Eight other people were injured in the incident, including a 28-year-old pregnant woman, who was transported to an area hospital for observation. Kristen Longo, a spokeswoman for North-Shore LIJ, said Franklin Hospital treated four people from the Wal-Mart incident for minor injuries.
The store was closed after the incident, but re-opened in the early afternoon.
According to an advertisement for the Valley Stream Wal-Mart, the store was offering several deals on Friday from 5 to 11 a.m. including LCD high-definition television sets as low as $388, as well as sales on digital camera, GPS systems and Blu-ray players. The lack of security and organization, coupled with the bargains and heavy marketing, created a "recipe for disaster," Mulvey said.
As of press time, no criminal charges had been filed. Mulvey said that police are trying to determine from the security tapes whether any individuals acted inappropriately, but he admitted that that could be difficult to do. "It has to go beyond just faces," he said. "You have to establish recklessness or intent to harm."
Mary Malloy contributed to this story. Comments about it? AHackmack@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 265.
