A lawyer for several witnesses to the Black Friday stampede at a New York Wal-Mart reports today that his clients have been called before a grand jury. It is possible that Wal-Mart could be the target of a criminal charges for its role in the deadly stampede. Though the penalty could be as little as $5,000 or $10,000, a criminal prosecution would be an important message to eve the countries largest retailer. Wal-Mart too often gets away with breaking laws simply because they are large and have an army of lawyers on staff. We hope the District Attorney is going after Wal-Mart for criminally negligent homicide. While we're no lawyers, we strongly believe that Wal-Mart could have prevent this tragic event. Moreover, we believe Wal-Mart had a responsibility to prevent the death of Mr. Damour and the injuries of others.
Article after the jump...
Lawyer: Wal-Mart stampede witnesses get grand jury call
Witnesses to a shopper stampede that killed a man at a Valley Stream Wal-Mart on Black Friday last year have been called to testify before a special grand jury, their lawyer said.
Robert Steinberg of Garden City, who represents two people who were hurt in the melee, said one of his clients has already testified before the grand jury and the other has been subpoenaed. He declined to identify his clients.
If a grand jury has been empaneled to look into the case, it could mean that the district attorney is exploring criminal charges against Wal-Mart, experts said.
Eric Phillips, a spokesman for Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice, would not confirm that a grand jury has been empaneled because he said there is an ongoing investigation into what happened.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Daphne Moore also would not confirm that a grand jury is meeting, and would not speculate on the possibility that the superstore could be charged with a crime.
Seasonal security worker Jdimytai Damour, 34, of Jamaica, Queens, was trampled during a stampede at Green Acres Mall by some 2,000 frenzied shoppers who broke through a glass door in a rush to take advantage of sales. Damour's family and several other people who were involved in the melee have filed lawsuits against Wal-Mart.
Damour's "family supports any effort to investigate this terrible tragedy, and ensure that justice is served," said Andrew Libo, a Manhattan lawyer representing Damour's relatives.
Experts said prosecutors are more likely to bring criminal charges against Wal-Mart than they are against individuals who were present during the stampede, although that possibility cannot be ruled out.
If the grand jury were to indict Wal-Mart on a charge of criminally negligent homicide - the charge experts said would be most likely - prosecutors would then have to prove that the company failed to perceive that it was taking a substantial risk in the way it handled the Black Friday event, said Eugene O'Donnell, a law and police science professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan.
Prosecutors would likely focus on how much warning the store had that such a large crowd might turn up and how it trained employees and security personnel, among other things, O'Donnell said.
If Wal-Mart were charged criminally, it could be punished with a fine - up to $5,000 for a misdemeanor or up to $10,000 for a felony. It could also receive a "conditional discharge" and the conditions could include providing restitution to people hurt in the crush or their families, O'Donnell said.
James Acker, a criminal law professor at Albany Law School, said even though $10,000 is a pittance to a huge company like Wal-Mart, it can make a strong symbolic statement.
"It's an attention-getting device that shows the community that this is serious," he said.