Some Toronto residents say they wait up to 24 hours for police after 911 calls
CTV
Sergio de Ilzarbe came home from his Christmas holidays to find his window smashed in and part of his home ransacked.
Sergio de Ilzarbe came home from his Christmas holidays to find his window smashed in and part of his home ransacked.
The 35-year-old Toronto resident says he was a victim of a break-and-enter while in Niagara Falls with his family. Upon their return on New Year’s Eve, at around 4 p.m., he said the family found about $3,000 to $4,000 worth of items missing, and their bedroom in complete disarray.
“They made a mess in the room,” Ilzarbe told CTV Toronto.
After speaking with a 911 dispatcher, he said he was transferred to the Toronto Police Service (TPS) non-emergency line since nobody was injured and the perpetrator was long gone.
From there, de Ilzarbe said it took about 18 hours for police to arrive.
“I went to sleep around 4 a.m., and they’re not coming,” he said. “[I] call the police and say, ‘Okay, I cannot keep waiting it’s 4 a.m., but I’m here, so if you’re coming, call me.’”
By Sunday morning at 10 a.m., an officer had responded to their home, but by that time, de Ilzarbe said he and his family already spent the night exposed to cold temperatures from the broken window.
