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Police failure to respond to attempted home invasion leaves wheelchair-bound Hamilton woman terrified
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Police failure to respond to attempted home invasion leaves wheelchair-bound Hamilton woman terrified

After the intruder left, she heard him talking to another person waiting in the wings.

Newman called the police to report the incident, but the police told him they were too busy to come right away. The operator told him to file a report online.

“I understand they are busy. “If it had just been robbed, it wouldn’t have bothered me,” he said.

“But it was a dangerous guy who was going to enter my house. He grabbed me by the neck and went to grab my leg. I think he was going to get me out of that wheelchair.

“I was pointing my finger at him and saying, ‘Don’t come into this house!’”

The ordeal has left her terrified for her safety, especially as it is Newman’s third attempted home invasion in recent years.

“I couldn’t sleep or eat for a day, but I’m calming down now,” he told Herald.

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to go to bed. I’ve been sleeping in the living room so I can watch the door.

He said the most important role of the police was to keep people safe.

“I am 74 years old and in a wheelchair and I need to know that if I call 111, I am not doing it for fun or to chat.”

Hamilton woman Toria Newman, 74, with her friend Justine Orme. Newman has cerebral palsy and was the victim of a home invasion for the third time.
Hamilton woman Toria Newman, 74, with her friend Justine Orme. Newman has cerebral palsy and was the victim of a home invasion for the third time.

Newman’s friend Justine Orme said it could have been a potentially horrible experience and called for a police reorganization.

“She is scared. “There is no way he can defend himself,” he said.

“They are there to protect us. if they are that very underfunded or you don’t care, something has to be done.

“What do we have to do to make the police realize something is wrong?”

City of Hamilton Area Commander Andrea McBeth said police received a report around 3:20 a.m. on Oct. 28 that an unknown person had attempted to enter the caller’s home.

“The caller said she did not know if the man was still there, however, she confirmed that the doors to her home were now closed and that she was safe at the time. The job was recorded and they asked him to call 111 again if the man returned,” he said.

“The initial work was correctly coded as Priority 1; however, at the time there were other Priority 1 jobs that were deemed to present a more immediate risk to life and safety.

“Later that morning, through the caller’s support worker, he was informed how to complete an online police report and at the same time upload security footage that he reported having from outside his home, to allow police monitoring,” McBeth said. saying.

“Police recognize the need to ensure vulnerable members of our community receive a timely and efficient response to calls for service. However, we must balance this with the resources we have available at the time and other priority work.

“We accept that in this case our response fell short of expectations and I have asked our prevention team to visit this person to reassure them that the matter is being addressed.”

McBeth said the incident is awaiting further evaluation, including examination of security footage.

Orme told the Herald that very distressed police officers visited Newman on Wednesday afternoon.

“He said he was told there were only two police officers on duty in his area that night.”

David Williams is an Auckland-based multimedia journalist who joined the Herald in 2023. He covers breaking news and general beats.

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