A mayor in Indiana wants a Walmart store in his town declared a public nuisance following a string of recent incidents that prompted more than 1,200 police responses at the store in the past year and a half.
Beech Grove Mayor Dennis Buckley said an incident at the store last week was the last straw and has pushed for the store to be declared a public nuisance, according to the Indianapolis Star.
A 42-year-old man last week reportedly tried to steal something from the Walmart and pointed a gun at employees after being caught by security. The man allegedly ran to a nearby restaurant and shot himself in the head as police responded to the scene.
Buckley reportedly told the publication “we’re better than that, our community is better than that” and he doesn’t want to “get a phone call every day saying that somebody pulled a gun at Walmart and has done something out of line.”
Buckley's "nuisance" declaration would mean the company could be fined up to $2,500 when police are called.
The latest incident was just one of many spotlighted at the store in recent years.
The Indy Star reports that between February 2014 and mid-June Beech Grove police responded to incidents at the store 1,278 times and made 473 arrests.
One of the incidents made national headlines earlier this summer after two women were caught on video brawling in a shampoo aisle of the store. One woman’s 6-year-old son was seen joining the fight and throwing punches in the film.
Another incident four days later resulted in a 63-year-old woman’s death. The Indy Star reports that a shoplifting suspect was chased by police, ran a red light and crashed into a pickup truck and car, killing the driver of the truck and seriously injuring two others.
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Walmart spokesman Brian Nick said the store and city officials implemented a "restorative justice program" after the June incidents that is designed to reduce the number of police calls to the store. The program, he said, is in place at stores across the country and allows for the store to process certain shoplifters without law enforcement being called.
In addition, the store hired an off-duty police officer to be on-site.
"We certainly don’t want people inside our stores for the wrong reasons any more than any other business but unfortunately that happens," Nick said. "The specific requests from the town in terms of things that they’ve asked of the store have been met and so that’s really where we are as a store and working with local law enforcement and city officials."
The public nuisance claim has not yet been finalized, but once it is, the store will be given a 10-day grace period before fines can be issued, according to the report. Then, officers will have the option to issue tickets when they respond to the store.
Nick said the company plans to "review the language and act accordingly."
"We certainly want to continue being a strong presence for the community and serving our customers," he said.
Buckley did not immediately respond to NBC Chicago's requests for comment.
