Woman waited hours for Chicago police response after being raped at gunpoint during home invasion – CWB Chicago

A woman who was raped at gunpoint by a home invader in Gresham waited for hours for Chicago police to respond to her emergency call because the district had no officers available to handle it, according to police dispatch recordings.

The Chicago Police Department’s 911 center received nine calls for service about the November 6 home invasion and sexual assault without dispatching an officer. The victim was eventually taken to Holy Cross Hospital for treatment, but police did not send an officer to meet her there until 2:13 p.m.

Detectives released a surveillance image of the attacker Sunday in hopes that someone will recognize him and help investigators identify him.

The woman was home alone in the 7700 block of South Racine Avenue when the man broke into her home around 10:36 a.m. Friday, November 6, according to CPD. The attacker sexually assaulted her at gunpoint in her bedroom and burglarized the home, police said. He appears to be carrying a purse in the surveillance image released by detectives.

CPD described the attacker as a Black man between 40 and 55 years old, approximately 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-8. He was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt, red baseball cap, white medical mask, black pants and red shoes with white laces. Anyone with information about the attack or the man’s identity can contact detectives at 312-747-8271 or submit an anonymous tip at CPDTIP.com. Investigators ask tipsters to reference case JK480065.

Recordings of police radio traffic from the Gresham (6th) District show that the emergency call was apparently classified as a criminal sexual assault report requiring an officer’s response, with the first mention of the attack being made at 12:21 p.m. But the district was in “Radio Assignments Pending,” or RAP, status, meaning no patrol cars were available to handle incoming calls.

As a result, emergency assignments accumulated without officers being dispatched, including the report from the woman who had just been raped during a home invasion. By 1:13 p.m., the victim had been transported to Holy Cross Hospital for treatment, but CPD still had not sent an officer to meet with her.

The delay finally drew the attention of a district sergeant during a routine review of pending assignments at 2:05 p.m. The sergeant asked a dispatcher whether anyone could be sent to handle the call. The dispatcher said no officers were available but promised to send someone “as soon as I have one available, sir.” An officer was dispatched about eight minutes later, at 2:13 p.m.

A dispatcher later confirmed that the 911 center had received nine calls for service concerning the home invasion and sexual assault.

There are currently 316 officers assigned to the Gresham District, according to the Chicago Office of Inspector General. There were 378 when Brandon Johnson became mayor in May 2023, meaning the district has lost 16% of its staffing under his watch.

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