A North Carolina man said he called 911 recently to report a break-in at his home and was told officers were “tied up” and that he should call back the next day.
Jan Friis said he told a 911 operator, “My house is broken into.”
But the response he got was unexpected, WCTI reported Monday.
“We’ll give it to an officer, but right now, they’re all tied up with something else,” the 911 operator said.
“I didn’t know if the people were still around,” Friis said. “I was here by myself with two kids trying to make it safe for them.”
Hours later, Friis said, he got a call from a deputy who told him officers had been busy with a car chase and asked him to call back the next morning.
“I got angry about that,” Friis said. “He told me that they had had a car chase and that they didn’t have more than three cars and that the Highway Patrol hadn’t helped them and they just didn’t have anybody to come and take my report until the next shift came in.”
Capt. Scott Kennedy, with the Duplin County Sheriff’s Office, said this was an isolated incident. He said the car chase that occupied deputies happened at the same time as Friis’ call for help.
However, Kennedy, who said there are usually four to six deputies on duty at any given time, said there is no deputy shortage.
Friis said he feels the sheriffs office let him down.
“I’ve had to protect this property with almost no help from the sheriff’s department,” he said. “I’ve spoken to the sheriff personally about this, and he no longer returns my calls.”
The captain has said that anyone with response time concerns should contact him.
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