May 6, 2009 7:13 pm US/Eastern
Wal-Mart Pays $2M To Settle L.I. Death Probe
Victims Furious, Claim Retail Giant Got Bargain Basement Deal To Avoid An Indictment; Nassau DA Defends
MINEOLA (CBS) ―
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In this still taken from cell phone video, a store employee lies unconscious on the floor of a New York City Wal-Mart after being trampled by a throng of Black Friday shoppers on Nov. 28, 2008. The man was pronounced dead at a hospital.
CBS
The family of a worker killed during a shopping stampede at Walmart is blasting a settlement reached with the retail giant.
Walmart will pay $2 million instead of facing prosecution.
Walmart's deal with prosecutors avoids criminal charges in the trampling death of a temporary employee last November during frenzied post-Thanksgiving "Black Friday" sales.
"I'm outraged. They basically bought themselves out of an indictment," victim Emmanuel Moultrie said.
Moultrie, a victim of the Walmart stampede, criticized the county's deal but Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said if Walmart was convicted at trial it would have been subject to only a $10,000 fine
"Comprehensive change that a criminal prosecution would never, ever achieve," Rice said. "And I think that that is the reason why this agreement is so historic in its scope."
Walmart agreed to pay nearly $2 million and improve safety at its 92 New York stores, including Valley Stream where a crowd of 2,000 broke down the doors in a stampede, killing employee Jdimytai Damour, who was caught in the melee. Eleven others were injured.
"We have never had a tragedy like this in our stores and we don't want it to happen again," said Hank Mullany, Senior VP of Walmart Corp.
Walmart admitted no wrongdoing. And officials left the podium without taking questions after agreeing to paying for a $400,000 fund for victims compensation and a $1.5 million grant to Nassau County Social Services and non-profit groups.
"It is as though they are giving us the cold shoulder," Leana Lockley said.
Lockley was pregnant when trampled to the ground, and nearly lost her baby, who was born healthy three weeks ago, but she said the horrors linger.
"I feel they should have been criminally prosecuted because someone died -- a murder," Lockley said.
Some taxpayers said they were pleased to be spared paying for a costly trial, but victims' families wondered why they weren't consulted. Their attorneys said the largest retailer in the world got away with a bargain basement deal.
The Damour family wants a special prosecutor to look into the deal. They have filed a lawsuit against Walmart.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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