Caught on Video — An altercation inside the mall happened just days after the Walden Galleria reopened their doors to the public amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Cheektowaga Police don’t know exactly how many people were involved in the altercation, but they say no charges or complaints were filed once they arrived to the scene.
The brawl happened on Tuesday afternoon.
“The video of it was pretty sensational. It showed a lot of people involved in a hand to hand fight, however, by the time the calls come into our dispatch, the officers respond and make it all the way into the mall, the combatants were already on their way everybody went different directions,” said Brian Gould Assistant Chief Cheektowaga Police Department.
Cheektowaga Police officials say they’ve been proactive since the mall reopened to help keep shoppers safe.
“We gave seen some activity the last couple of days at the mall, but we’ve been proactive,” Gould said. “On the first couple of days at the mall we did have officers stationed inside the mall and our officers continue to make the mall a frequent check and do walk throughs.”
The company that operates the Walden Galleria issued a statement saying:
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO PYRAMID MANAGEMENT GROUP:
The health and safety of our guests and tenants will continue to be our highest priority. The isolated incidents that recently took place are absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. It’s incredibly unfortunate that the unacceptable behavior from such a small group of individuals has to disrupt the experience for the 99.9% of our shoppers who have behaved wonderfully.
While these incidents undermine the tireless efforts by our security team, community partners and local law enforcement agencies that make Walden Galleria a year-round family friendly destination, they only strengthen our resolve to remain vigilant and committed to providing a safe environment for our guests, employees and tenants. Make no mistake, we will be pursuing all avenues to hold accountable individuals who cannot behave appropriately.
Regarding masks and social distancing, in accordance with and under mandate from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and New York State, everyone who enters a Pyramid property is required to wear a mask and maintain social distancing. Guests who have a medical condition that prevents them from wearing a mask, those who cannot put on or remove a mask themselves and small children, are exempt from wearing a mask.
Our security team is actively reminding a small number of guests to wear a mask and handing out masks to anyone that does not have one. We ask that all guests comply with the mandate and maintain social distancing, as it truly is best for everyone. We have additional signage as guests enter our centers to remind everyone to wear a mask and maintain social distancing.
For any individuals that refuse to wear a mask and are not exempt, they will be informed that they are in violation of the State mandate and be directed to leave the property immediately.
