Preliminary results of an autopsy performed Monday on the Valley Stream Wal-Mart employee crushed by a wave of Black Friday shoppers show he was killed by asphyxia.

The Nassau policed revealed the results at a conference in which they also fended off criticism, including a father and son’s allegations of negligence, which come with a $2 million lawsuit against the county.
"The flaw here really comes down to the planning and organization of the sales event," Nassau Police Commissioner Lawrence Mulvey said.

According to Mulvey, police and Green Acres Mall security had been at the site “in anticipation of these sales.”

''And the message was clearly portrayed to all those parties that these kinds of events fall within the purview of their security,'' said Mulvey ''And they need to plan, organize and police them properly. We clearly put it out on their plate,'' he added.

Jdimytai Damour, 34, seasonal security worker from Jamaica, Queens, was trampled by a stampede of 2,000 frenzied shoppers at the mall, as they broke through a glass door, rushing to grab a bargain.

Damour’s cause of death, says police, was “positional asphyxiation” consistent with having pressure applied to his chest. More bluntly put “he was trampled to death.”

The same day, Fritz Mesadieu, 51, and his son Jonathan, 19, filed a notice of claim against Nassau County and its police department and a separate negligence suit against Wal-Mart.

Kenneth Mollins, the attorney representing the Mesadieus said that the two were caught up in the shopping surge and sustained neck and back injuries from being lifted off their feet and slammed into people and objects.

The Mesadieus, who arrived outside the Wal-Mart an hour before the doors opened at 5 a.m., said that the police were there before the stampede started but did nothing about it and left quickly, even as unrest grew among the crowd.

''It was clearly foreseeable, but police either didn't see it, or saw it and didn't care and left anyway,'' Mollins said.

According to Mulvey, officers reported to the Wal-Mart at about 3 a.m. after receiving a call about a disturbance, and left 20 minutes later because ''The assembled people were orderly, behaved themselves.''

Therese Sgro, mother to a 14-year-old girl whose wrist was fractured when a woman in the crowd punched her at around 3:45 a.m. said the police ''pretty much dismissed us as if it was no big deal.'' Police say Sgro’s claims could not be confirmed Monday night.

In their separate lawsuit, the Mesadieus accuse Wal-Mart of ''carelessness, recklessness and negligence'' by failing to protect patrons.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said that the company had not yet been served with the suit and declined to comment. He did however cite a previous statement in which Wal-Mart boasted its Black Friday security measures at the location, which included barriers and additional security workers, like Damour.

Later, Wal-Mart senior vice president Hank Mullany stated that the company ''will continue to partner closely with Nassau County law enforcement officials as they conduct their investigation. Nothing is more important to us than providing a safe and secure shopping environment for our customers and associates.''