Black Friday chaos at retail locations across the U.S. started early this year, as many stores opened on Thursday. One of the hotspots turned out to be a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas.
Video shot Thursday by Adolfo Arzaga shows shoppers swarming at pallets of flat screen televisions. One woman in a green sweatshirt seems to be pulling one of the boxes out of the scrum, and then a man and another woman grab it. As the woman in green tries to retrieve the box another man comes over and shoves her away. At this point an El Paso police officer arrives saying “Stop. Stop. Nope. Nope. Stop.”
But the drama isn’t done. Another video, apparently shot in the same El Paso Walmart, shows a man being forcibly ejected from the store by the same police officer. The officer is then seen making his way back toward a checkout line. There is a confusion of voices and, a moment later, the same El Paso PD officer is seen grabbing a man in a pale blue shirt around the neck and shoulders. The man pulls away and throws a punch at the officer. After a brief scuffle, which is hidden from view, the officer takes the man down and handcuffs him.
Beyond El Paso, there was a similar buying frenzy (but no fighting) over towels at a Walmart in New Roads, Louisiana:
In Lakewood, New York WIBV reports police were called to Chautauqua Mall after a man identified as 21-year-old Aaron Johnson used pepper spray on two other shoppers at an American Eagle store. Johnson was charged with assault, and the two victims were taken to a local hospital.
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