Seven years after he retired, Michael Jordan's shoes are still a big seller.
Just ask the crowd of about 500 shoppers that gathered at Town East Mall in Mesquite for a chance to buy the Air Jordan Retro 11 gray sneakers.
Mesquite police showed up at the mall to control the crowd.
A YouTube video (warning:graphic language) of the incident shows people in the crowd coughing and covering their noses after police used pepper spray on the crowd.
"Mesquite police were forced to deploy pepper spray twice into the unruly crowd of several hundred people; the first time was to rescue a child that was being crushed against the outside door by the crowd," Lt. Bill Hedgpeth said in a statement. "Moments later, a second officer deployed pepper spray to move the crowd back and prevent injuries and further damage to the property when the crowd surged forward, breaking the glass in an exterior door."
Hedgpeth said that police tried to verbally instruct the crowd to back up, but their verbal commands didn't work.
"Situations like this can be easily avoided if everyone remains calm and respectful of other shoppers," he said. "There is no item that is so important to own that people need to endanger others just to be the first one in the door."
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The shoes sold out quickly at Town East Mall. The sneakers sold for roughly $175, but are going for much more on eBay.
Collectors say the shoes were last sold in 2001.
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