A Chicago mother is raising questions about the police response after two men broke into her Wicker Park home, with four hours passing before officers arrived following her 911 call.
The owner, Michelle, doesn’t want us to show her face or use her full name because the would-be thieves haven’t been caught.
She said she left her door open around 12:30 p.m. after letting her dog out, and that’s when two men entered the house.
“I saw two men wearing masks standing inside my house,” she said. “I shouted, ‘I’m calling the police,’ and they ran away.”
Michelle and a neighbor ran after the men. Then she said she called 911.
“They told me dispatch was on its way and they were waiting outside,” she said.
Michelle said she waited and waited and waited some more. She called 911 several times and on the sixth call, she asked for a supervisor.
“A gentleman came up and apologized saying we didn’t have any units to send you… then there was an awkward pause,” she said. “He also recommended I call my city councilman and I explained why – and he told me to encourage him to hire more police officers. The dispatcher also asked me if I would consider defending myself…if I had a weapon or if I was considering getting one.
Michelle says more than four hours later, officers arrived.
“The police officers who showed up were attentive and apologized for taking so long to get them there,” she said.
Chicago police told NBC Chicago that the delay in officers arriving at Michelle’s home may have been related to the priority list of routine 911 calls.
If there is no immediate threat to life, this may be considered a lower priority for dispatchers.
We also reached out to OEMC, but did not receive a response before our story aired.
In a statement – 1st Neighborhood alderman Daniel La Spata wrote:
“It’s horrible that our neighbor experienced this, everyone deserves to feel safe at home. My staff alerted me to the problem as soon as they heard about it, and I am in contact with police leadership in the 12th District. I will continue to support all resources requested by our districts and will continue to work with the city on a proposed satellite location within West Town for the 12th District Police Department.
Michelle says she called the councilman’s office and is waiting to meet with him in person.
She also wants to make it clear that she doesn’t blame the police for having to wait so long.
“I don’t think it’s the police department’s fault that they’re overstaffed and overwhelmed,” she said.
NBC Chicago
