SAPOL Disgrace: Victim Calls Police During Home Invasion, Cop Accuses Him of Bulls**tting and Threatens to Charge Him With “Fraud”

The family, who do not want to be identified, refused to return home after the frightening break-in early on August 17 and have been living with a relative.

Now, they have decided to put their home of the past 45 years on the market.

CCTV footage (below) of the attempted robbery shows four intruders wielding their weapons inside the family’s kitchen and living room and trying to gain access to bedrooms. The homeowners’ adult son, who was the only person in the house at the time, was woken by smashing glass about 1.35am and rang police on their 131 444 number, believing it would get through quickly to officers on the road.

Instead of being reassured that police assistance was on its way, the son was treated like a criminal by the officer who answered the phone.

In response to the frantic call as the machete-wielding men gained access to the house, the officer was suspicious and wasted valuable time warning her petrified son that he would be charged with fraud if it was a prank.

“He was saying ‘If you are bulls—ting, we’re going to charge you with fraud’,” said the man’s mother, who was holidaying overseas with her husband at the time.

“It took five minutes to convince them. He was very upset, he was saying ‘I need help now, I’m locked in my bedroom. I can see four people with machetes and baseball bats in my house’.

“I think it’s absolutely disgusting the way he was treated when calling out for help.

“I know people do silly things but if someone is calling out for help and telling you what’s happening, the police need to take that seriously. We’re just lucky our son wasn’t hurt.”

She said the intruders gained access to the renovated kitchen and lounge area by smashing a glass door with their machetes, but were foiled by a heavy door that stopped them from entering the main area of the property.

But she said one of the masked men could be heard on the video footage saying that he would “be able to get through that next time”.

“It makes us scared that they are planning to come back,” she said. “Going through the footage, it looks like two of them had guns.”

She said the family could not return to the home, which her husband bought 45 years ago and in which they raised their two children, and was putting it on the market.

“We’ve made the decision to vacate and we’re looking for another property,” she said. “Our house will go on the market in the next two weeks. I couldn’t feel comfortable going back. There’s no way I’m staying there; I’m too stressed and anxious.”

A police spokesman said a call for help was received at 1.38am and “a number” of police patrols arrived at the home at 2am.

“Despite the prompt police response and immediate investigation into the incident reported by the complainant, unfortunately no suspects have been identified,” he said.

A response time of 22 minutes to an emergency in the north-eastern suburbs during the early morning period when traffic is extremely light is not “prompt” – it is inordinately long, which strongly supports the mother’s claim that SAPOL did not take the incident seriously when first notified.

Source

Family put their home of the past 45 years on the market after house raided by a gang of men. The Advertiser