A Milwaukee family said police refused to respond to their home after a friend was held at gunpoint while trying to safely hide their packages
Homeowner says police refused to respond to armed robbery package theft
A Milwaukee family said police refused to respond to their home after a friend was held at gunpoint while trying to safely hide their packages
CAROLINE: RIGHT, AND THAT ROBBERY VICTIM, WHO WANTS TO REMAIN ANONYMOUS IN OUR STORY TONIGHT, SAYS HE WAS TRYING TO MOVE THE NEIGHBOR’S PACKAGES TO SAFETY OUT-OF-THE-WAY WHEN THAT THIEF APPROACHED HIM WITH A GUN. THE NEIGHBOR SAYS WHEN HE CALLED POLICE, THEY TOLD HIM THEY WERE NOT GOING TO RESPOND. HE WAS A HELPER WHO TURNED INTO AN ARMED ROBBERY VICTIM. >> WHEN I WAS GETTING THE HEAVY ONE, HE WAS COMING DOWN THE ALLEY IN A CAR. CAROLINE: A CAMERA AT FIRESIDE BBQ AND GRILL NEAR 77TH AND BURLEIGH RECORDED AN EMPLOYEE BRING TWO HEAVY PACKAGES FROM A NEIGHBOR’S PORCH OVER TO THE RESTAURANT BACK DOOR THURSDAY AFTERNOON, WHEN A RED MAZDA PULLS UP. I SAID, YOU ALL RIGHT, BROKE? I SAID, I WORK RIGHT HERE AT THIS RESTAURANT. THEN HE WAS LIKE, I SAID, GET THE [BEEP] AWAY FROM MY CAR. CAROLINE: THAT’S WHEN HE PULLED A GUN OUT? >> THAT’S WHEN HE PULLED THE GUN OUT. IT WAS A BIG GUN, TOO. CAROLINE: THE VICTIM SAYS AFTER THE SCARY ENCOUNTER, THE CAR BACKED UP, AND A MAN INSIDE STOLE THE PACKAGES. THE PACKAGE OWNER, LATER CALLED THE DISTRICT 7 MILWUAKEE POLICE PRECINCT TO REPORT THE CRIME. >> I SAID, DO YOU WANT HIS INFORMATION, TO FOLLOW UP ON IT, LICENSE PLATE INFORMATION. THEY SAID NO, PROBABLY BECAUSE WHAT WAS STOLEN, NO FOLLOW UP WOULD BE DONE. CAROLYN: VAN DONKERSGOED SAYS EVEN THOUGH THERE WASN’T ANYTHING VALUABLE INSIDE THE PACKAGES, HIS FRIEND, WHO HE SAYS IS PART OF THEIR FAMILY NOW, COULD HAVE BEEN SHOT. >> THAT’S NOT FAIR. YOU DON’T KNOW. THAT MAN COULD HAVE KILLED ME OUT THERE IN THAT ALLEY. >> NO RESOURCES WERE PROVIDED TO ME. TELL ME WHAT NUMBER TO CALL. WALK ME THROUGH WHERE I SHOULD REPORT IT ONLINE, WHERE I SHOULD SUBMIT THE INFO, WE HAD THE SCREENSHOTS. CAROLYN 12 NEWS TOOK THAT : CONCERN TO MILWAUKEE POLICE. IN AN EMAIL, A SPOKESPERSON SAYS THE CRIME WAS REPORTED TO THE DISTRICT 7 POLICE STATION, NOT 911 OR THE NON-EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBER. THE DEPARTMENT SAYS THOSE ARE THE ONLY TWO NUMBERS THAT CAN DISPATCH OFFICERS. PATRICK CAROLINE, WHAT NUMBER : ARE POLICE SAYING PEOPLE SHOULD CALL WHEN IT’S NOT AN EMERGENCY? CAROLINE IN THIS CASE, THE : HOMEOWNER TRIED CALLING POLICE HOURS AFTER THEIR FRIEND WAS HELD AT GUNPOINT. MPD SAYS THEY SHOULD HAVE CALLED THE GENERAL NON-EMERGENCY LINE
Advertisement
Homeowner says police refused to respond to armed robbery package theft
A Milwaukee family said police refused to respond to their home after a friend was held at gunpoint while trying to safely hide their packages
A Milwaukee family said police refused to respond to an armed robbery near their home. It happened on Thursday around 12:15 p.m. near N. 77th Street and W. Burleigh Street. The homeowner, Van Donkersgoed said their friend works at the nearby restaurant Fireside BBQ and Grill. Donkersgoed said their friend, who wants to remain anonymous for their safety, offered to take their packages inside the restaurant until Donkersgoed got home. Surveillance footage from the restaurant shows the friend move two packages to the business' back door, then shows a red Mazda car pull up. "I said, 'You alright bro?' I said, 'I work right here at this restaurant,'" the friend told WISN 12 News. "Then he was like, 'I said get the (expletive) away from my car.' That's when he pulled the gun out. It was a big gun, too."The friend walked away and when he returned, the packages were gone. Surveillance footage shows the driver get out of the car and snatch the two parcels. The video clearly shows the thief's face, car and license plate. When Donkersgoed found out, he said he called Milwaukee Police Department's district seven precinct. "I said, 'Do you want his information to follow up on it?' I explained we had his license plate information. The person was on video. They just said no, probably because of what was stolen, no follow up would be done," Donkersgoed said. "No resources were provided to me. I mean if I had called the wrong number, tell me what number to call or who to call. Walk me through where I should report it online, where I should submit the information that we have."WISN 12 News contacted Milwaukee Police Department about the incident. In an email, a spokesperson for MPD said the number Donkersgoed called is not a dispatch phone number and District 7 does not dispatch squads. The spokesperson said only 911 and the non-emergency number, which is 414-933-4444, are connected to telecommunicators that then send over the information to dispatch. After this story aired, a WISN 12 News crew saw an MPD squad and officer respond to Donkersgoed's home. Donkersgoed said police came and took a report after WISN's inquiries.
MILWAUKEE —
A Milwaukee family said police refused to respond to an armed robbery near their home.
It happened on Thursday around 12:15 p.m. near N. 77th Street and W. Burleigh Street.
Advertisement
The homeowner, Van Donkersgoed said their friend works at the nearby restaurant Fireside BBQ and Grill. Donkersgoed said their friend, who wants to remain anonymous for their safety, offered to take their packages inside the restaurant until Donkersgoed got home.
Surveillance footage from the restaurant shows the friend move two packages to the business' back door, then shows a red Mazda car pull up.
"I said, 'You alright bro?' I said, 'I work right here at this restaurant,'" the friend told WISN 12 News. "Then he was like, 'I said get the (expletive) away from my car.' That's when he pulled the gun out. It was a big gun, too."
The friend walked away and when he returned, the packages were gone. Surveillance footage shows the driver get out of the car and snatch the two parcels. The video clearly shows the thief's face, car and license plate.
When Donkersgoed found out, he said he called Milwaukee Police Department's district seven precinct.
"I said, 'Do you want his information to follow up on it?' I explained we had his license plate information. The person was on video. They just said no, probably because of what was stolen, no follow up would be done," Donkersgoed said. "No resources were provided to me. I mean if I had called the wrong number, tell me what number to call or who to call. Walk me through where I should report it online, where I should submit the information that we have."
WISN 12 News contacted Milwaukee Police Department about the incident.
In an email, a spokesperson for MPD said the number Donkersgoed called is not a dispatch phone number and District 7 does not dispatch squads. The spokesperson said only 911 and the non-emergency number, which is 414-933-4444, are connected to telecommunicators that then send over the information to dispatch.
After this story aired, a WISN 12 News crew saw an MPD squad and officer respond to Donkersgoed's home. Donkersgoed said police came and took a report after WISN's inquiries.