New information in the rash of driveway armed robberies in Dallas shows police took nearly three hours to respond to one case on December 2.
One neighbor who asked that his identity be withheld out of concern for his safety witnessed what happened.
“It was a coordinated attack,” he said.
The witness said five suspects confronted two residents in their driveway on Cabell Drive near Peak. One victim was ordered inside, the other ordered to the ground outside. The victim’s wallets, cell phones and vehicle were stolen.
“A very specific urgent phone call was made about 9:50 at night,” the witness said.
The police log of the incident, obtained by NBC5 shows an initial call at 9:49 p.m.
At least four additional calls were received about the incident. At 11:49 p.m., the call log shows an operator was told that the suspects had told the victims "they are coming back" if the correct PIN number was not provided to recover cash from the victim’s ATM.
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Even after that entry, the log shows police did not arrive until 12:37 a.m.
“We’re lucky that no was hurt or even killed. This was armed robbery. And so we’ve beefed up security,” said Dallas City Council Member Adam Medrano.
He arranged a meeting with the victims, concerned neighbors and Police Chief U. Renee Hall.
The Dallas Police force is around 700 officers smaller than it was in 2011 but Medrano said the problem on December 2 was not a lack of officers.
He said the chief told residents that police were responsible for improperly coding the incident for faster response it should have received after the suspects issued threats of returning.
“It was priority two and it didn’t get upgraded when the other calls came in, which it should have,” Medrano said.
Security cameras and extra police cars were clearly visible in the neighborhood Monday.
“To reassure them that we are taking this seriously, that we want to catch these guys,” Medrano said.
Friday, NBC 5 reported on another delayed response, this one to calls for what turned out to be the November 27 murder of Maria Ezquerro in her North Dallas apartment. A press release about the case said police responded to the call around 9 p.m. The call log for that incident shows a 9:18 p.m. call for health and welfare check expired and had still not been answered by police at nearly 11 p.m. Neighbors broke down the woman’s door and discovered her dead. Dallas Fire Rescue did respond and requested police at 10:28 p.m. according to the call log.
Dallas Police Chief Hall declined an interview request Monday.
Deputy Chief Thomas Castro held a press conference on the robbery investigation. The case has now grown to nine Dallas crimes in recent weeks. Castro said a Carrollton crime may also be connected to the same suspects.
“I think the Dallas Police Department is doing the best they can given the circumstances. I think leadership should give them the tools,” the Cabell Drive witness said.
Monday, the Dallas City Council Public Safety Committee endorsed a change in hiring standards to accept lateral transfer of police recruits with Texas Peace Officer Certification from other departments who may not have the military or college background that Dallas requires now.
Starting Dallas Police pay rises to $60,000 a year next month. Both measures are aimed at hiring more officers.
Late Monday night, the Dallas Police Department released this statement.
“The Dallas Police Department received a complaint regarding an unacceptable response time to a December 2nd robbery call. An internal investigation into the incident confirmed that this call should have been updated and expedited but was not due to human error. DPD takes response times very seriously and regrets that our response to this call was not handled in accordance with the standard to which we hold ourselves accountable. The department has taken initial steps in furthering training for dispatchers and will be deploying the necessary supervision to improve oversight and accountability.”
