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Last updated on Monday, August 17, 2015
(BEECH GROVE) - Beech Grove’s Mayor Dennis Buckley says he was in a meeting last week and kept getting interrupted with news of more trouble at the city’s Walmart. By Friday, the city’s police chief made the decision to declare the store a public nuisance after a summer of high profile incidents.
WTHR reports, Mayor Buckley cites nearly 500 police calls in just 5 months to the store and says something has to change. "I want Walmart to be a better corporate partner with us and it's not happening," said Mayor Buckley. "They can really be a productive business in our city if they want to be, but we can't continue down this road," he added.
It's a road that has seen the store in the news all summer. The first time was in June when two women got into a brawl in the shampoo aisle. Video of the incident went viral.Days later, police were called to the store for a shop-lifter who led them on a chase. During that pursuit, police say the suspect crashed his car and killed a woman, injuring others.
This past week, Beech Grove got another shop lifting call after police say two suspects were stopped by security for shoplifting. During questioning, one of the men ran after pulling out a gun and shot himself nearby.Later that same night, according to Mayor Buckley, Beech Grove police were at the Walmart again for another shoplifter who ran. "For a period of time, there were not any Beech Grove police officers patrolling the streets of Beech Grove because we were down at Walmart again dealing with an irrelevant shop lifter," said Buckley.
WTHR reports, now the store has ten days to address some of its issues, according to the Mayor or they could be fined each time police are called to the store. "That store is a real problem," said the mayor.
According to a Walmart spokesperson, the company has hired off duty police to patrol the store and implemented a program where low level shoplifting offenses will be handled in house so police don't need to be called. A Walmart spokesperson said the company enjoys great relationships in communities across the country. Mayor Buckley said Beech Grove has not been one of those communities.
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