The Trenton Times published the following article on May 8, 2013. To read the full article, click here.
Trenton police say response to home intruder call was appropriate
By Alex Zdan/The Times
on May 07, 2013 at 4:26 PM, updated May 07, 2013 at 9:19 PMTRENTON — Police officials have completed an internal review of officers’ response to a 911 call from a home where a man was fighting with an intruder Sunday night.
Resident Dan Dodson, who struggled with the allegedly drunken man for 10 minutes, said yesterday that police should have arrived more quickly than the 20 or 30 minutes he estimated it took them to get to his home.
Police say they looked into Dodson’s concerns but found no wrongdoing.
“The director looked into the incident himself,” said Lt. Mark Kieffer, a police spokesman. “He found the police officers and the communication officers and the dispatchers followed proper procedure.”
The drunken intruder in the vestibule of Dodson’s building was considered a disorderly persons offense rather than a home invasion or burglary in progress, Kieffer said. Police rated it as a “priority 5” call, meaning officers needed to respond in 30 minutes or less, he said.
“They followed policy and procedure,” Kieffer said.
In comparison, “priority 2” incidents like robberies or shootings in progress need to be responded to in two minutes or less.
“We prioritize the calls accordingly,” he said.
Dodson could not immediately be reached for comment today. He owns the building, which includes commercial space and two tenant apartments. He lives in a separate unit with his wife and young son.
His wife called 911 to report the intruder but was redirected to a non-emergency number, he said. Kieffer said the administrative review also determined that was the proper procedure for that particular call.
Officers were busy with numerous disorderly persons crimes throughout the city Sunday night, and were dispatched as soon as they were available, police said.
By the time they arrived, Dodson had forced the man out of the building. The suspect was not found and no arrests have been made.