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Crime

‘Verging on a Riot’: Police Pepper Spray & Arrest Shoppers Over…Nike Air Jordans

Dec. 23, 2011 1:38pm Billy Hallowell

SEATTLE (The Blaze/AP) – The sale of new Nike retro Air Jordans led to chaos in multiple locations across America. But it was in a Seattle, Washington, suburb that the situation appeared to be most out of hand.

Police used pepper spray on about 20 people at a Seattle-area mall, while officers arrested at least four unruly shoppers in suburban Atlanta. The list of cities where mayhem unfolded only seems to be growing.

ABC News has more:

Police were called to shopping centers in Indiana, Florida, Texas and Virginia among other states to control crowds of hundreds lining up for the shoes.

“I don’t remember anything like this in the recent past at all, definitely not with the iPhone or anything like that,” Linda Jackson, a spokeswoman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, told ABCNews.com.

Police Pepper Spray Shoppers Amid Chaos Over Nike Retro Air Jordans

Nike retro Air Jordans (Image Credit: Nike.com/SA)

People started gathering around midnight at four stores in the Westfield Southcenter mall in suburban Seattle for a chance to buy the shoes, which retail for $180 a pair, Tukwila Officer Mike Murphy said. The crowd grew to more than 1,000 people by 4 a.m., when the stores opened, he said.

“Around 3 (a.m.) there started to be some fighting and pushing among the customers,” he said. “Around 4, it started to get pretty unruly and officers sprayed pepper spray on a few people who were fighting, and that seemed to do the trick to break them up.”

No injuries were reported, although some people suffered cuts or scrapes from fights. One man was arrested for assault after authorities say he pushed an officer.

“He did not get his shoes; he went to jail,” Murphy said.

Here’s a video report about an Indiana mall, where shoppers ripped a door off of its hinges:

In Lithonia, Ga., at least four people were arrested early Friday at a mall after a crowd of customers broke down a door at a store selling the Air Jordans before it opened.

DeKalb County police told Fox 5 Atlanta that up to 20 squad cars responded. Officers said they escorted most of the people outside but took four into custody.

Police also said they had to break a car window to get two toddlers out after a woman went in after the shoes. They said she was taken into custody when she returned to the car.

It’s not the first time the Nikes have caused an uproar. Some people were mugged or even killed for early versions of the Air Jordan shoe, which Nike Inc. created in 1985.

The shoe has been a consistent hit since then with sneaker fans. A new edition was launched each year, and release dates had to be moved to the weekends at some points to keep kids from skipping school to get a pair.

No one anticipated the hysteria around the original Air Jordan, which spawned a subculture of collectors willing to wait hours to buy the latest pair. But the shopping frenzy over the shoe had died down in recent years.

These latest incidents instead seem to be part of trend of increasing acts of violence at retailers this holiday shopping season, such as the shopper who pepper-sprayed others at a Walmart in Los Angeles on Black Friday and crowds looting a clothing store in New York.

A representative for Nike, based in Beaverton, Ore., was not immediately available to comment.

In Tukwila, Murphy said the crowd was on the verge of a riot and would have gotten even more out of hand if the police hadn’t intervened.

“It was not a nice, orderly group of shoppers,” Murphy said. “There were a lot of hostile and disorderly people. It was verging on a riot. We were on the verge of losing control of the crowd.”

Image Credit: Sneakerbardetroit.com

About 25 officers from Tukwila, Renton, Kent, Seattle and King County responded. Murphy said they smelled marijuana and found alcohol containers at the scene.

The Southcenter mall’s stores sold out of the Air Jordan 11 Retro Concords, and all but about 50 people got their Nikes, Murphy said.

Hundreds of customers also lined up outside shoe stores in downtown Seattle and at a mall in nearby Federal Way.

In Portland, Ore., a line started forming Thursday morning outside the downtown Nike store for customers waiting for Friday’s re-release of the Nike shoe.

The Oregonian reported the Air Jordan appeal is only partly nostalgia for the former NBA star. Collectors known as “sneakerheads” save them for special occasions or never take them out of the box.

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Comments (282)

Psychosis
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:15pm
wait till they need food

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- broker0101
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 4:02pm
  That’ll be right after George Soros, Richard Trumka and the Muslim Brotherhood succeed in installing a world-wide Caliphate. Lol! What a Glenn-Beck-Brainwashed Loser!
  
  Report this comment
- Latter-Day-Soldier
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:22pm
  Broker0101: And just how much Kool-Aid do you drink every day?
  
  Report this comment
- Major Infidel
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 6:27pm
  Hey Broker, tell me. Do they still give you people that really good government cheese? You know in a big brick.
  
  The maid used to bring me a slice once in awhile until we fired her for not cleaning behind the fridge.
  
  Damn shame, that was good cheese.
  
  Report this comment
- conservativewoman
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 7:10pm
  @PSYCHOSIS
  Isn’t that the truth.
  
  Report this comment
- not_smart_enough_4u
  Posted on December 24, 2011 at 1:44am
  Whne they get hungry they can eat those shoes
  
  Report this comment
- RossPoldark
  Posted on December 25, 2011 at 5:18am
  Bet a good portion of these people are on food stamps or welfare. Oh gee, I have to decide if I want 180 dollar stupid Nike shoes, or should I pay my rent, and utilities to keep a roof over the my kids, or heat to keep them warm in the winter?
  
  Report this comment
- cosette
  Posted on December 25, 2011 at 7:17am
  @ Rosspoldark. Most of these parasites are well schooled in scamming the system. They receive subsidized housing (section 8), Govt. subsidized utility vouchers, Medicaid, WIC and, my personal favorite, Govt. paid cell phones complete with free minuets and free texting! It’s comes in handy when the black hoards want to coordinate a flash mob betadown/strong armed robbery of the unsuspecting class/race of folks who pay for all their freebies. You know, white working people!
  
  Report this comment
Nelson2020
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:15pm
And this is how they act over a pair of shoes? Wait until there is a shortage of food……..
For those of you that do not think we have a major problem here in the US, think again……
God forbid we have another Katrina or worse!

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- 2theADDLED
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:17pm
  Wait till they find out they really don’t help get away from the scene of a crime faster.
  Refund Please.
  Did I see Eric Holder in that line ?
  
  Report this comment
headbtweenlegs
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:13pm
Obama Voters….Watch out this year during election..

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- Gonzo
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:39pm
  Throw some sneakers in front of a speeding train and reduce Obamas base a little?
  
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- 1776freedomofspeech
  Posted on December 24, 2011 at 10:42am
  Funny how the ones who live off the workers (The Tax Payers) are the most materialistic.
  
  Black culture is dragging the country down.
  
  Report this comment
biohazard23
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:13pm
How many of them are on welfare and food stamps? Just askin’…..

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Indymaverick
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:11pm
Red ball jets……….now that was a shoe! Made in America too. I miss the good old days. sigh.

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- beardo
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:37pm
  Heck, Trax from K Mart ( Under 5$) were fine by me !
  
  Report this comment
- Mopar 1969
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:49pm
  Also PF flyers and Keds
  
  Report this comment
- rukdnme13
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 6:39pm
  Converse High Tops! :-)
  
  Report this comment
- BlazingPatriot
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 9:09pm
  Whatever was on sale.
  
  Kmart, Picway, Payless………
  
  Report this comment
Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:11pm
One more example of where people love stuff more than each other; this mess will continue and watch the admin use it to stir up yet more trouble.

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- progressiveslayer
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:30pm
  Sadly it’s a sign of the times,we’ve had people act like idiots while shopping in the past but it just seems more frequent now and more violent.I’m sure we’ll see a repeat of black panthers with their voter intimidation tactics but violence will ensue this time around.
  
  Report this comment
- barnsy
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 4:15pm
  Why aren’t the liberal press scolding these people? If they have $180 to spend on shoes ,surely they can affored to be taxed more to help “the poor”.
  
  Report this comment
- chips1
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:32pm
  BARNSY:
  I don’t think drug dealers pay any taxes.
  
  Report this comment
- carbonyes
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 7:26pm
  @PROGRESSIVESLAYER. We need to be organized to confront Black Panthers at voting precincts in 2012. like most of their kind, they flee when confronted by forces even close to their number, they are a bunch of yellow bellied sap suckers, and can not in any way be permitted to intimidate voters.
  
  Report this comment
mrsalvage2
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:11pm
Continum of Force meets Black Friday.

Finally, something to cure women of Shopping.

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- Stoic one
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:26pm
  I refuse to pay more than $50 for a pair of shoes, $25-30 is more like it. And I will not stand in line for them.
  
  Report this comment
- dealer@678
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:42pm
  If i saw those shoes on a 20 dollar clearance shelf i wouldnt give em a second glance
  
  Report this comment
- Christhefarmer
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:53pm
  New Game show Idea…. Go to a black neighborhood and build a 20foot tall scaffold with a pair of rare shoes at the top… Film chaos. Go to a trailer park do the same but only with a dale earnhardt signed helmet. To the burbs and put lady gaga up there.
  
  shoes… lol it’s the culture not the people. They are told to act this way and they are stupid.
  
  Report this comment
- lukerw
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:56pm
  They say… the same area of the brain that is activated in Shopping… is the area activated in Sex… thereby the activities can be interchanged!
  
  Report this comment
- last frontier
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:56pm
  Here’s that one common denominator again, go back to all the video footage of the black Friday stampedes and what do you have, I’m beginning to see where all the money from the stimulus and the middle class has gone to. Where do all these people work? when I go to the stores and the mall I see an overwhelming majority of minorities with huge bags, but when I go into a multitude of businesses and see there workers I don’t see that ratio anymore.
  
  Report this comment
- Here in Texas
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 3:17pm
  I spend about 20 on shoes once a year. When they start to fall apart, I duct tape them. Simple solution~
  
  Report this comment
- Ruler4You
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 3:19pm
  Sane? I don’t think so. (http://www.ourcivilisation.com/moral2/test.htm)
  
  Report this comment
- Sirfoldallot
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 3:38pm
  lol
  
  Report this comment
- RightThinking1
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 4:42pm
  @Texas
  Once a year? Geeze, I can get at least two years out of a pair of sneakers. Two words: Shoe Goo
  
  Report this comment
- Latter-Day-Soldier
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:26pm
  Military boots for me, I hate wearing sneakers except when exercising
  
  Report this comment
- beardo
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:45pm
  LUKERW I beleive what you are tryin to say is ” Screw Shopping” ! Seriously, we have become a nation of Stuff !
  
  Report this comment
Godrulz
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:10pm
Is this thing on?

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- MEANS2RESIST
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 4:13pm
  I may not have no stinkin $$ for nothing else, but I sure got me some cool shoes…..what is with these people and wanting $150.00 tennis shoes? Nike has them made of $10.00, maybe even less in the sweatshop..
  
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vtxphantom
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:08pm
Must be a cultural thing. Bunch of Air heads.

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- Latter-Day-Soldier
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 5:29pm
  I’m just waiting for the news article about someone being either mugged or shot for the pair they bought or are wearing
  
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COFemale
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:08pm
Why do people have to act like animals over a material item? This is why I never shop Black Friday. I don’t want to deal with an unruly crowd or be put in a position of having to punch someone’s lights out.

Manufacturer’s are creating an era of mob violence with these type of products. Also the mall officials should have called police and had police on site even before the doors opened and laid down the law. You will form a line, you will walk through the doors. You will walk into the store, you will walk out of the store. You deviate from this, you will not get your shoes, you will go to jail and you will not be impressing your friends.

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Robert-CA
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:07pm
Thugs that’s what they are .

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bobbie22
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:04pm
These mobs of people must be part of the top1%, the shoes are expensive. Some one call the 99%.

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- Sirfoldallot
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:12pm
  Big investment, $ 20 dollar shoes look better now.
  
  Report this comment
- Rational Man
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:35pm
  180.00 a pair. I heard that they resale online for as much as 5 or 600 bucks.
  
  A sad comentary on our society, in my opinion…………………..
  
  And it’s true, there are way nicer shoes out there for far less money…..Go figure!
  
  Report this comment
Brents Torts
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:04pm
All of this over a stupid pair of shoes. Insanity.

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- Sirfoldallot
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:14pm
  It’s a basketball thing + a statement, wat moe’s.
  
  Report this comment
prmermen
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:03pm
the way most of them were holding their pants up while running, you would think they were running for a belt..well if this is obama army we shouldn t have a problem

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- barber2
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 3:49pm
  Ah, low pants, values, and I.Q’s….priceless…
  
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Dotado
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:03pm
And this is just over sneakers…..lets pray it does not get to be over food. And by the way, for people who are complaining about how bad the country is….$180 for a pair of sneakers? I would not normally care if you are actually earning your own money or inherated it but how many of these folks across the USA are paying for those sneakers with money they got through the sweat of their brow? I did not see the video, I don’t care what color they are or are not, it is about values!

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- macpappy
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:46pm
  Because it might be about food one day….is why I learned to load my own, is why I have more than one hand gun, a shotgun, and couple I don’t care to describe. It will be about food, fuel, water, and life one day soon; I suggest that you be ready. The inner cities will be picked clean very fast and then they will come for the affluent suburbs. Your house may well become a fort. If you think this cannot happen in the modern world, I suggest you check out the recent history of Herzegovina and Bosnia.
  
  Report this comment
- thekuligs
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:50pm
  I can feed my family of 6 AND add to my food/household goods stockpile for $180 for 2 weeks. Those sneakers won’t get the jack when the economy crumbles.
  
  Report this comment
nelbert
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:01pm
$180!!! Rioting! For an ugly shoe!
What is going on in the world?
Where is that asteroid when you need it?

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lonestarbill
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:01pm
The same thing happened in Austin at two locations. At one location a police officer was knocked down and kicked around until other officers pepper sprayed the crowd. Over a pair of shoes??!!

Has all honor and civility left this country? That earthquake in the Northeast awhile back was George Washington spinning in his grave.

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Centralsville
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:59pm
So embarrassing. It does show how small minds and the sheep syndrome interact with the power of advertising. The masses are easy to control because the masses never think independently.

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BillComstock45
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:56pm
I wonder how many of these people, who are ready to spend $180 for a pair of sneakers, are being supported by taxpayer entitlements….just another example of “the world of Obama”.

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sparkspeaks
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:56pm
Do white people NOT wear this shoe? I am confused….is this a racial issue?

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- Maine932
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:03pm
  Aaaah, look at the video, would you point out the ones you are asking about…? Oh, yeah, they are at other stores acting civilly…!
  
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- booger71
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 3:25pm
  Only gang banger wanna-be whiteys from the burbs
  
  Report this comment
ScottyK7
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:56pm
Two malls here in Oklahoma City (Penn Square and Quail Springs) also reported “packs of unruly teenagers” this morning around 0630. I was wondering why they were at the mall so early, now this story fills in the details.

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sparkspeaks
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:55pm
Do white people not wear this shoe? I think this is a racial issue!

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- Marengo Ohio Patriot
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:03pm
  find a news clip where white people act like a bunch of animals for a pair of shoes…. or any thing else for that matter!! not racist… just fact!! deal with it….
  
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wigg
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:53pm
Over shoes?? Shoes? I think I just heard God Sigh.

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- macpappy
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:58pm
  It was a fart
  
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AmericanStrega
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:50pm
Ahhh, the Great Northwestern states. Glad I moved out of that cesspool. VIVA LA RURAL KANSAS!

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- TexasHunter
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:07pm
  You are in the arm pit of America though. Come to Texas. We welcome you!
  
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Charybdis
Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:45pm
Without clicking on any of the vids of this scene, I was able to easily guess at who was involved. I wish that wasn’t the case.

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- Marengo Ohio Patriot
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 1:54pm
  guess????
  it’s alway f’ing obvious!!! with 100% accuracy!!!
  
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- iheartusa
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:02pm
  They are a part of the 47%ers, the takers. They want what they want, when they want it and here in Washington state, they get it. I am so tired of Seattle making the news, remember a few weeks ago the woman on welfare living in a million dollar home!!! And they that think capitalist are greedy!
  
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- iheartusa
  Posted on December 23, 2011 at 2:36pm
  Oops! I meant to say they think capitalists are greedy!
  
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