Tis the season to be jolly...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...7AO0L820111125

Off-duty police officers working as security for a Walmart in Kinston,
North Carolina, used pepper spray to keep anxious shoppers at bay before
the start of an electronics sale at midnight on Thursday, authorities said.

The already "rowdy" atmosphere intensified when employees began to bring
out pallets of electronic merchandise, Kinston director of public safety
Bill Johnson said.

When customers tried to grab merchandise from the pallets before the
sale time, the off-duty officers hired as store security guards for the
event discharged pepper spray to restore order, Johnson said. One man
was arrested for failing to follow officers' orders, he said.

"No one was pepper sprayed in the face," Johnson said, adding that he
was unaware of any injuries.