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Theres 4 minute video at the link well worth the listen. Officers never showed up at the houses door step, Police call back the residents an hour and a half later to check up on them. This incident made a few new firearms owners due to the mishap.
http://www.thedenver...948/detail.html
Quote
DENVER, Colo. -- Don Frei and his wife, Debbie, did what many of us would do if someone was breaking into our home. The couple called 911 but police never showed up.
Denver 911 is taking responsibility and admitted it failed the couple after CALL7 Investigators began asking questions.
"There was a guy just on the other side of the door, pounding on the door, screaming, cursing and trying to break into our house," said Don Frei.
The attempted break-in occurred in November. Just before 5 a.m. a man began yelling in the couple's back yard, waking the family from a dead sleep.
"My three children by this point have been woken up and are screaming and crying, and I'm like, 'Get somebody here now! This guy is trying to break into my house.'"
A Denver 911 dispatcher stayed on the phone with the family for a little more than 14 minutes as the would-be intruder pounded on the door.
You can clearly hear the criminal in the background of the 911 call. Dispatch tapes obtained by CALL7 Investigators also shows a dispatcher telling Frei five times that police are on the way.
"We're sitting here watching somebody, who's this far away from getting into your house -- with a door that's got glass you could punch -- unlock the door, and walk in. And you expect the police to come and help you," said Frei.
Call records show police were dispatched eight minutes after Frei called 911, but police never made contact with the family.
Police records show there were available units in the area at the time of the call and officers could have been dispatched.
Denver 911 told CALL7 Investigator John Ferrugia that when a 911 operator got the call, it was immediately sent electronically to a police dispatcher on the other side of the room while 911 stayed on the phone with Frei
Ernest Franssen, operations manager for Denver 911, said the dispatcher didn't relay the urgency that someone was trying to break into the home.
"I want to take full responsibility for the lack of urgency that we demonstrated on this incident and we absolutely apologize to the homeowner for the delay. We, unfortunately, put him in a very uncomfortable situation, him and his family," said Franssen.
CALL7 Investigators found Denver 911 received 24 complaints from citizens or police officers about Denver 911 not dispatching in a timely fashion.
A review of the complaints showed 17 were valid, and employees were disciplined with one being fired.
In the Frei case, the dispatcher was given a verbal reprimand.
Franssen also didn't know Frei filed a complaint until after CALL7 Investigator asked questions about it.
After conducting an internal investigation, Franssen found that complaint never made it to his desk. He wrote in an email: (note: Mr. Frei's name is misspelled in the email.)
"Mr. Frie went to the District Three sub-station on November 20, 2012 (sic) to make a complaint about Denver Police Department’s response to his home. District Three Officers correctly evaluated their portion of the response and referred Mr. Frie to Denver 911 for further questions. Mr. Frie followed the direction given to him by Denver Police, called Denver 911’s non-emergency line and was transferred to an Operations Supervisor.
Regrettably, at this point Denver 911 failed to provide Mr. Frie with adequate customer service. The Operations Supervisor advised Mr. Frie that Denver Police Officers responded to his house and then referred Mr. Frie to the Denver Police Department’s website to make a “formal complaint.”
The Operations Supervisor should have offered to research the incident and follow up with Mr. Frie once that research was complete. He also could have escalated the complaint up the chain of command for further evaluation. His failure to take these steps prevented Mr. Frie from receiving the service he expected and should have received, and Denver 911 takes full responsibility.
The incident is being addressed with the Operations Supervisor and appropriate discipline will be imposed. I also called Mr. Frie this week to apologize for the way his complaint was handled.
Additionally, Denver 911 implemented an improved complaint process on January 15, 2012 to ensure complaints, such as the one made by Mr. Frie on November 20, 2011, are properly tracked and addressed. This includes notifying a member of the Denver 911 management team when a complaint is made."
Denver 911 is taking responsibility and admitted it failed the couple after CALL7 Investigators began asking questions.
"There was a guy just on the other side of the door, pounding on the door, screaming, cursing and trying to break into our house," said Don Frei.
The attempted break-in occurred in November. Just before 5 a.m. a man began yelling in the couple's back yard, waking the family from a dead sleep.
"My three children by this point have been woken up and are screaming and crying, and I'm like, 'Get somebody here now! This guy is trying to break into my house.'"
A Denver 911 dispatcher stayed on the phone with the family for a little more than 14 minutes as the would-be intruder pounded on the door.
You can clearly hear the criminal in the background of the 911 call. Dispatch tapes obtained by CALL7 Investigators also shows a dispatcher telling Frei five times that police are on the way.
"We're sitting here watching somebody, who's this far away from getting into your house -- with a door that's got glass you could punch -- unlock the door, and walk in. And you expect the police to come and help you," said Frei.
Call records show police were dispatched eight minutes after Frei called 911, but police never made contact with the family.
Police records show there were available units in the area at the time of the call and officers could have been dispatched.
Denver 911 told CALL7 Investigator John Ferrugia that when a 911 operator got the call, it was immediately sent electronically to a police dispatcher on the other side of the room while 911 stayed on the phone with Frei
Ernest Franssen, operations manager for Denver 911, said the dispatcher didn't relay the urgency that someone was trying to break into the home.
"I want to take full responsibility for the lack of urgency that we demonstrated on this incident and we absolutely apologize to the homeowner for the delay. We, unfortunately, put him in a very uncomfortable situation, him and his family," said Franssen.
CALL7 Investigators found Denver 911 received 24 complaints from citizens or police officers about Denver 911 not dispatching in a timely fashion.
A review of the complaints showed 17 were valid, and employees were disciplined with one being fired.
In the Frei case, the dispatcher was given a verbal reprimand.
Franssen also didn't know Frei filed a complaint until after CALL7 Investigator asked questions about it.
After conducting an internal investigation, Franssen found that complaint never made it to his desk. He wrote in an email: (note: Mr. Frei's name is misspelled in the email.)
"Mr. Frie went to the District Three sub-station on November 20, 2012 (sic) to make a complaint about Denver Police Department’s response to his home. District Three Officers correctly evaluated their portion of the response and referred Mr. Frie to Denver 911 for further questions. Mr. Frie followed the direction given to him by Denver Police, called Denver 911’s non-emergency line and was transferred to an Operations Supervisor.
Regrettably, at this point Denver 911 failed to provide Mr. Frie with adequate customer service. The Operations Supervisor advised Mr. Frie that Denver Police Officers responded to his house and then referred Mr. Frie to the Denver Police Department’s website to make a “formal complaint.”
The Operations Supervisor should have offered to research the incident and follow up with Mr. Frie once that research was complete. He also could have escalated the complaint up the chain of command for further evaluation. His failure to take these steps prevented Mr. Frie from receiving the service he expected and should have received, and Denver 911 takes full responsibility.
The incident is being addressed with the Operations Supervisor and appropriate discipline will be imposed. I also called Mr. Frie this week to apologize for the way his complaint was handled.
Additionally, Denver 911 implemented an improved complaint process on January 15, 2012 to ensure complaints, such as the one made by Mr. Frie on November 20, 2011, are properly tracked and addressed. This includes notifying a member of the Denver 911 management team when a complaint is made."
