17 Hurt as Computer Sale Turns Into Stampede

[weirdharold]

I believe the problems were anticipated... there were 20 cops patroling the event at the start.... come on now 20 cops for a used computer sale.... would seem like a lot to most anyone..... The knew there was more interest being generated than they thought there would be ....

The county posted the event on its Web site, local newspapers ran stories on the sale and news otherwise spread on blogs and by word of mouth. But no one expected such a crowd, Stanley said.

"I just think the whole system was overwhelmed with the number of people that showed up," he said.

Proto said the county initially was going to open the sale to the general public. When Henrico began receiving inquiries as far away as California and Germany, however, it decided to restrict the sale to county residents, he said.

These show there were signs of trouble.... therefore, cutting the sale back to county residents..... and having 20 cops on hand at the start.... come on, who would have figured there would be a need for 50 more cops along with teams of volunteer firefighters to restore order?

20 cops for 5000 people and a riot breaks out.... Makes me wonder if the cops on hand weren't more concerned about getting their own used computer instead of doing their job.