Extra police are on hand in Bentonville, ready to deal with thousands of visiting Walmart employees, as well as with the possibility of protestors at this year's shareholder's conference.
Officer Chris Gravley is working his first shareholder's week, as thousands of visitors flock to Bentonville to see the Walmart home office and Sam Walton's original store.
"I am in awe of just seeing all the people and all the buses," Gravley says.
He spent Wednesday alongside Walmart's corporate security, helping visitors cross Main Street.
"Trying to make sure that they can get across and get into the five and dime and see what they work for every day, where it started from," he says."I've had my picture taken, I've had hand shaking, I haven't had any hugs yet."
But with a bribery scandal still in the headlines, protesters are also expected. Captain Mike Smith says extra details, including uniformed and undercover officers, are on the streets to keep things safe.
"Hopefully (protestors) do them in the right way, but (if) they don't, hopefully we can be there to help out," Smith says. "We've seen it in other large cities, so we're trying to prepare."
Smith says with the population here so heavily invested in Walmart, the safety issues go both ways.
"You've got people that might not be as sympathetic to their cause and so you have to protect the protestors, as well as the business interests," he says.
Officer Chris Gravley is working his first shareholder's week, as thousands of visitors flock to Bentonville to see the Walmart home office and Sam Walton's original store.
"I am in awe of just seeing all the people and all the buses," Gravley says.
He spent Wednesday alongside Walmart's corporate security, helping visitors cross Main Street.
"Trying to make sure that they can get across and get into the five and dime and see what they work for every day, where it started from," he says."I've had my picture taken, I've had hand shaking, I haven't had any hugs yet."
But with a bribery scandal still in the headlines, protesters are also expected. Captain Mike Smith says extra details, including uniformed and undercover officers, are on the streets to keep things safe.
"Hopefully (protestors) do them in the right way, but (if) they don't, hopefully we can be there to help out," Smith says. "We've seen it in other large cities, so we're trying to prepare."
Smith says with the population here so heavily invested in Walmart, the safety issues go both ways.
"You've got people that might not be as sympathetic to their cause and so you have to protect the protestors, as well as the business interests," he says.
