Oak Brook Praises Police Response After $400 Swatch Launch Crowd Overran Barricades
Updated
Updated · Chicago Tribune · May 22
Oak Brook Praises Police Response After $400 Swatch Launch Crowd Overran Barricades
1 articles · Updated · Chicago Tribune · May 22
Oak Brook President Larry Herman said police handled last weekend’s Swatch crowd as well as possible, saying officers quickly de-escalated a rowdy scene and prevented injuries.
About 2:47 a.m. Saturday, people gathered outside the Oakbrook Center store for the Royal Pop Collection, then refused mall security directions, overwhelmed barricades and surged through the mall, prompting mutual-aid assistance.
The rush was driven by demand for a roughly $400 Swatch-Audemars Piguet watch that buyers expected to resell online for at least $1,000, forcing the store to close through the weekend.
Swatch said similar launch-day problems hit around 20 of its 220 stores globally and urged customers not to rush stores, adding the Royal Pop Collection will remain available for several months.
Herman said the release had not been announced to mall management or police, making advance planning impossible and shifting attention to crowd-control limits around surprise product drops.
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