Air Jordans rock retailers, police called

• Tweet

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- A late holiday season release of Air Jordan 11 Retro Concord sneakers was met with chaos in Indianapolis, a police spokeswoman said.

"I don't remember anything like this in the recent past at all, definitely not with the iPhone or anything like that," said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Linda Jackson, ABC reported Friday.

"It sounded like these are the need-to-have item of the season, for some reason," she said.

Police were summoned to restore calm in three malls in Indiana and at stores in Florida, Texas and Virginia as consumers vied for a chance to buy the sneakers that come out once a year and were launched at midnight.

Police also responded to disturbances in Kentucky and North Carolina. In Florida, police resorted to using pepper spray to gain control of the retail ruckus.

"Tinker made it shine. Mike made it fly. You made it iconic. Jordan 11s only come around once a year, so don't miss this highly anticipated release," the manufacturer, Nike, said in a statement.

While Air Jordan sneakers generate $1 billion for Nike each year -- with a retail price of $180 -- they were also generating income on the secondary market.

Soon after their release, the sneakers were found on eBay for an asking price of $500.