Four-Hour Police Wait After Chicago Assault Fuels Self-Defense Case
A 19-year-old Chicago woman says she was sexually assaulted at gunpoint during a home invasion, then waited roughly four hours for a police officer to show up despite multiple 911 calls. Bearing Arms covers the case and what it means for anyone counting on a fast police response.
Snapshot
According to CWB Chicago, 55-year-old Calvin Lindsey allegedly broke into the victim's home, assaulted her, and stole property before fleeing. Her mother, fiancé, and landlord all called 911, but CPD had no officers available to respond for about four hours, by which point she was being treated at Holy Cross Hospital.
Key points
- The delay: CWB Chicago reports the first officer arrived roughly four hours after the attack because no units were free to take the call.
- Staffing cited as the culprit: Former Riverside police chief Tom Weitzel, writing at CWB Chicago, says uniformed officers in the Gresham District have dropped 16 percent since Mayor Brandon Johnson took office, and calls the response "a catastrophic failure" of government's basic duty.
- Legal reality: Bearing Arms notes the Supreme Court has repeatedly held police have no constitutional duty to protect specific individuals, making a lawsuit against the city an uphill fight.
- Crime trends mixed: Bearing Arms points to CrimeIndex.org data showing Chicago's homicide rate up compared to last year and reported rapes up 5.6 percent, even as robberies fell sharply.
- Policy contrast: The piece notes Johnson's administration is suing Glock, pushing red flag laws and storage mandates, while also leaving hundreds of police vacancies unfilled.
Quick take
Bearing Arms uses this case to argue that residents can't bank on a timely police response and need their own plan, whether that's a firearm or a nonlethal tool. It's one incident, but paired with the staffing numbers cited, it's a reasonable prompt to ask what your own wait time might look like.
Read the full story: bearingarms.com