Milwaukee cops take 3 hours to respond to rape of woman, 82

MILWAUKEE — Police reports show that an elderly woman waited three hours for Milwaukee police to respond to her call for help after she was sexually assaulted.

Records obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel say the 82-year-old woman was attacked by a stranger after she got off a bus last week. Police acknowledge the response time is excessive and say the case is under review.

The records show the woman’s call was initially given “priority 1,” but was later downgraded to “priority 3.” At one point, the woman called the police dispatcher back, asking if she could take a shower. The dispatcher advised her not to shower.

The woman also told the dispatcher she didn’t want fire department paramedics to respond because she was worried about paying a possible ambulance bill.