911 Response Time Called into Question

A Montgomery County woman is demanding answers about a delayed response to a 911 call she placed from her home. She told FOX 5 she woke up at 5:49 a.m. to find her home trashed and burglarized, and she called 911—but help didn't arrive until 7:09 a.m.

Montgomery County Police have launched an internal investigation into what went wrong. They believe this is a rare situation, but for the homeowners the ordeal has left them feeling like victims all over again.

Rebecca Smondrowski and her family were asleep when three suspects broke in, ransacking her home-- stealing office equipment, electronics, money and one of the family's cars. It happened in early September.

"They went through enough of our stuff to pick and choose what they wanted to take," she said.

Rebecca immediately called 911, and was told to wait until an officer arrived.

"We went upstairs and we waited and no one showed up for quite some time," she told FOX 5.

"I'd like to think if I call 911 because I think there's an emergency that they're going to respond," Smondrowski continued.

Rebecca wants to know what went wrong, and Montgomery County Police say they do, too.

"We're treating it very seriously as a formal complaint and an internal investigation," said Captain Paul Starks.

Captain Starks says there appears to have been a breakdown in communication. Rebecca first called to report the burglary at 5:49 a.m. At 6:02 a.m., a sergeant gave permission to hold the call. Starks says there could be several reasons why.

"In this case, it's the end of midnight shift and beginning of day work shift, so routinely routine calls are held," said Captain Starks.

But the call wasn't routine because no one had searched the scene. Starks says an officer was finally dispatched at 6:54 a.m.-- more than hour after the initial call.

"We're looking at our protocol and our system-- how we're doing things, and then again who received what information at our 911 call center," said Starks.

Three suspects have been arrested and charged in the case. Rebecca says she's relieved, and she's glad to have some of her stolen items back. But, she worries about what happened, and has the unsettling thought that help may not always be on the way.

"I think there were a lot of missteps and I'm not sure how it happened," she told FOX 5. "I'm really hopeful that it doesn't happen again or to someone else, particularly not if they in a really serious situation."

The suspects in the burglary are also charged in three other cases. At least of two of them are repeat offenders. Police say more charges could come.