The Seattle Times has a disturbing story the describes the scene at the Valley Stream, NY Walmart, where worker Jdimytai Damour died of asphyxiation. Shoppers were apparently cracking jokes and making fun of him as paramedics struggled to save his life.

Trampled by a mob of bargain-hungry Black Friday shoppers, Jdimytai Damour, 34, died by asphyxiation, leaving people asking: Why, and how?

Audio-enhanced chatter captured on a cellphone video posted on YouTube and interviews with witnesses offer some hints.

The video shows a police officer crouching by a 6-foot-5-inch, 270-pound man lying at the entrance of the Long Island Wal-Mart. A paramedic pumps the man’s chest so forcefully his limp legs and feet joggle. Shoppers peer from behind glass doors or stand a few feet away, hands in pockets.

“They need to shock him,” a voice says.

The paramedic stops pumping. The man’s shirt has been pulled to his neck, revealing his belly. A woman in the crowd mutters, “Pregnant.”

Another cracks a joke.

The women laugh.

An eyewitness, whose arm was broken by the crowd, said that she tried to get police to do something — but was greeted with sarcasm.

A woman pushed Jones, who said back to her: “We can’t move!” She felt someone punch her left temple. The force knocked off her glasses.

Sgro fell to the ground; her right arm was broken. She telephoned her mother, Therese, telling her, “We were attacked.”

Her mother called 911 and raced to the scene with her husband, Robert Sgro, a firefighter. They got there when police arrived. Therese Sgro told an officer, “Can’t you see the crowd is out of control?”

She said he replied sarcastically: “I’m surprised we haven’t heard gunshots yet.”

Wal-Mart crowd unruly long before trampling [Seattle Times]

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