A Waukesha County couple is demanding answers after Milwaukee police took more than four hours to respond to a break-in and gun theft from their SUV near Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee. Their first 911 call came in at 12:22 a.m., but officers weren't dispatched until 4:21 a.m. and didn't arrive until 4:25 a.m.
The couple had gone out around 8 p.m. for a birthday dinner at a restaurant on McKinley Avenue, according to TMJ4 News. When they returned to their vehicle, they found the passenger-side window smashed and their belongings scattered inside. Thieves had used a knife found inside the vehicle to pry open a locked safe stored under the driver's seat and made off with a handgun.
Making matters worse, the couple discovered their vehicle registration sitting on the passenger seat — a document that included their names and home address, now potentially in the hands of whoever broke in. They called 911 again after waiting 30 minutes without a police response, and also tried the non-emergency line multiple times, the outlet's report notes. The couple chose to stay on scene the entire time in hopes of preserving evidence for investigators.
Dispatchers Cited a Busy Night
According to the same report, the couple was told officers would arrive as soon as possible because it was a busy night for the department. They described the eventual four-hour-plus wait as completely unacceptable. TMJ4 reported it reached out to the Milwaukee Police Department and the city's Office of Emergency Management multiple times, but the department had not responded by the article's deadline, and had not confirmed whether the delay was under investigation.
A spokesperson for the mayor's office told the station that questions about the four-hour delay were a matter for MPD to answer. The silence echoes a pattern that has drawn scrutiny before: in July, a 99-year-old assault victim in Milwaukee waited over two-and-a-half hours for police, a delay that prompted an official review and fresh questions about emergency calls, Hoodline reported. That incident led the city's Department of Emergency Communications to discharge one call taker, while another employee resigned in August.
Why Gun Theft Calls Can't Be Filed Online
Milwaukee's Police to Citizen online portal allows residents to report many non-emergency property crimes without waiting for an officer, but MPD policy bars online filing for incidents involving a stolen firearm, according to the Milwaukee Police Department. The department directs people to report such crimes at a district station.
A Department Stretched Thin
The delays come against the backdrop of a department that remains well below its authorized staffing levels. As of June 2025, MPD employed 1,581 sworn officers, down from 1,965 in 2009 and roughly 200 officers short of authorized strength, per FOX6 News Milwaukee.
Stolen handguns from vehicles are far from a rare problem in Milwaukee. Firearm thefts from vehicles in the city rose sharply from 185 in 2018 to 829 in 2021, the station's data shows.
Milwaukee police response delays are not a new complaint. In 2015, an 82-year-old sexual assault victim waited three hours for police arrival after dispatch categorized the call at a lower priority tier, WISN reported.
