Elderly Wisc. Woman Waits 3 Hours for Police to Respond After Rape

July 23--An 82-year-old woman who was raped by a stranger after she got off a bus last week was forced to wait three hours for a Milwaukee police squad car to respond, records show.

The woman, who has difficulty seeing, finally called the police dispatcher back and asked if she could take a shower.

The victim was told "do not do anything until a squad arrives," because it could remove key evidence of the rape. Finally, three hours and six minutes after the assault was first reported, a squad car arrived, according to police records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

A department spokesman acknowledged the delay in response time was "excessive" and said the case is under review.

"The Milwaukee Police Department is reviewing both our dispatch prioritization protocol and the handling of this specific call for service to ensure policy was followed and determine whether policy revision is needed, as the time from the initial call to the police and the dispatch of a squad was excessive," said Lt. Mark Stanmeyer.

A spokeswoman for Mayor Tom Barrett issued the following statement: "The response time was excessive and unacceptable. Clearly, a complete review and corrective measures are warranted."

Stanmeyer noted that in this case, once a squad car was dispatched, it took six minutes to arrive. But that was only after the three-hour delay, records show.

The incident comes a year after Police Chief Edward Flynn vowed to improve scrutiny of response times, following a case in which it took officers 22 minutes to respond to the report of a fatal stabbing of a 60-year-old woman. At the time, police disclosed they were investigating a separate stabbing where response also was delayed.

After those incidents, Flynn issued a directive on response time and wrote that all department members "will be held responsible for their decision making." Barrett said the chief "will hold individuals accountable and resolve the issue."

The department has not disclosed whether disciplinary action ever was taken.

Officials outraged

Reacting to the news Thursday of the elderly woman's rape, Ald. Joe Davis called the delay in police response "outrageous and unacceptable," adding "heads need to roll, and the Police Chief needs to take personal responsibility for his department's lack of performance on this breach of our Milwaukee citizens' trust."

Davis said Thursday afternoon that he briefly questioned Flynn about the news report.

"I had the opportunity today to ask the Chief of Police if the Journal Sentinel article was true, and his response was, 'Yeah, have fun with it,'" Davis said in a news release. Flynn's office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

Mike Crivello, president of the Milwaukee Police Association, said it was "unconscionable" that the victim had to wait so long for a squad car and laid the blame on the chief.

"Our professional police officers would have been there timely if not for another failed policy of Flynn. He is responsible for our ability to properly police the community," Crivello said in a statement.

Earlier this month, the chief received a four-year renewal of his contract from the Fire and Police Commission.

Call downgraded

Shortly after the 82-year-old woman was raped last week, the Police Department issued a news release asking the public for help in finding the assailant. A 29-year-old man has been arrested, Stanmeyer said, and the case is being reviewed by the district attorney. Stanmeyer did not indicate how officers found the suspect.

The rape, near N. Teutonia Ave. and W. Green Tree Road, was initially listed as a Priority 1 call, second only to an emergency assistance call from an officer. But it was downgraded and eventually marked as a Priority 3 call, records show.

Records show the call was received at 4:45 p.m. with the victim reporting that after she got off the bus, she was attacked by a man and knocked to the ground. She said the assailant turned her over and raped her. The man ran after the assault. The victim, who is not being identified per Journal Sentinel policy, walked to her home.

Once home, she called 911. Police records say "MFD is refused," indicating the victim refused to accept medical care from firefighters.

The call was then downgraded to a Priority 3, which reduces the urgency for police to respond.

Assistant Fire Chief Gerard Washington said the Fire Department has no record that firefighters or paramedics were sent to the scene. He said the victim must have refused care to the police dispatcher. Had firefighters been called in, they surely would have stayed with the woman at least until police arrived, Washington said.

In a later phone call, the victim told a dispatcher she had declined medical treatment because she was worried about whether she could afford an ambulance bill. Washington said inability to pay would never keep a crime victim from getting medical care.

Another call, more waiting

Ninety minutes after the initial call, the dispatcher notified the supervisor that no squad car had ever been sent. The response from the sergeant was that squads were busy with other calls, records show.

Another hour and 20 minutes passed, records show. The victim called again, asking if a squad car was coming.

"Caller states she wants to take a shower. Advised caller to not do anything until the squad arrives. Caller states she does not want medical sent because she does not want an ambulance bill. Caller states she has no other means of transportation. Caller is 82 year old and states she is unable to see and is fearful to take the bus to the hospital."

After that, a squad car was dispatched.

Officers finally arrived at 7:51 p.m. Detectives from the Sensitive Crimes Division, which investigates sexual assaults, were notified at 9 p.m. The victim was taken to a sexual assault treatment center shortly before 11 p.m. The episode ended shortly after 1 a.m.

The victim declined to comment when contacted by the Journal Sentinel.

Last summer, after the delay in the response to the fatal stabbing, an internal investigation was launched into that delay.

Flynn issued a directive stating that response time for Priority 1 calls will be scrutinized during the department's weekly CompStat meetings, at which Flynn and his commanders review crime statistics and question district captains about crime trends.

In the directive, Flynn wrote that one of his measures of success is the department's response to emergency calls.

"Everyone is responsible for striking the real-time balance of providing both proactive and reactive police service," he wrote. "Everyone will be held responsible for their decision making."

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