Milwaukee 911 delay, city leaders address investigation

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee Department of Emergency Communications provided an update Wednesday after it completed its investigation into the handling of a 911 call and delayed emergency response.

The backstory:

At least one employee lost their job following a City of Milwaukee investigation into the mishandling of a 911 call, according to documents reviewed by FOX6 News.

The employee was one of the two universal call takers that took a pair of 911 calls from a third-party dispatch service, alerting them that a 99-year-old woman was in danger near 14th and Cudahy on the morning of July 27. The third-party dispatcher told the city's universal call taker they believed the situation could be a domestic call. 

When the dispatcher called 911 a second time minutes later, they patched in audio in which a man can be heard threatening a woman, yelling, "Shut the [expletive] up! I'm gonna beat the [expletive] out of you!"

Though the call takers told the third-party dispatcher that police were on it, they didn't arrive until more than 2.5 hours later — after the woman dialed 911 herself.

"I've been attacked. I need help," the victim said after calling 911.

The two employees — the call takers — were subsequently placed on paid administrative leave while the DEC launched its internal investigation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

MilwaukeeNews