Walmart fined for shipping illegal realistic toy guns to New York State
Walmart has agreed to pay a $16,000 fine for shipping realistic toy guns to New York in violation of state law, Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday.
The 2015 ban on realistic toy guns came about after Cleveland police killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice when he was holding a pellet gun in November 2014. A number of retailers, including Walmart, Amazon and Sears, subsequently agreed to stop selling the items in the state.
The New York law specifically restricts retailers from selling or shipping toy guns that are black, dark blue, silver or aluminum and look too much like real firearms. Toy guns sold in the state must be brightly colored or made entirely of transparent or translucent materials.
'Realistic-looking toy guns can put communities in serious danger and that is why they are banned in New York,' James said. 'Walmart failed to prevent its third-party sellers from selling realistic-looking toy guns to New York addresses, violating our laws and putting people at risk. The ban on realistic-looking toy guns is meant to keep New Yorkers safe and my office will not hesitate to hold any business that violates that law accountable.'
A state investigation found third-party retailers had used Walmart's online store to sell the illegal toys, which Walmart then shipped to addresses in New York City, Westchester and Western New York.
As a result of the investigation and a settlement with the state, Walmart must now pay $14,000 in penalties and $2,000 in fees.
'We are committed to complying with all laws, and we have processes in place to ensure products offered for sale by third-party sellers on our marketplace comply with all applicable laws as well,' Kelly Hellbusch, Walmart's senior manager of global communications, said in a statement.
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