A St. Louis woman says an intruder tried to force his way back into her Dogtown home around 1 a.m. on Nov. 1 — about 25 minutes after she first dialed 911 — and police didn’t arrive until 1:45 a.m. Her experience was one of several that St. Louis residents say exposed how badly the city’s emergency response system buckled on Halloween night.
Jennifer Kelley first called 911 at 12:32 a.m. on Nov. 1, according to police records cited by FOX 2. She had just encountered an intruder in her bedroom in Dogtown and managed to persuade him to leave. Kelley told the station she initially hesitated to call 911 at all because she’d heard it was difficult to get through.
When the man tried to re-enter her home roughly 25 minutes later, Kelley called 911 again. The Saint Louis Metropolitan Police Department told FOX 2 that no district cars were immediately available for her because officers were tied up on other calls, though a police supervisor was notified about her situation. Officers were ultimately dispatched at 1:30 a.m. and arrived at 1:45 a.m., where they took an intoxicated man into custody at a facility. Kelley said the ordeal left her afraid that police might not show up at all if she ever needed them again.
Gunfire, a Hang-Up, and an Alarm Company Picking Up the Phone
Kelley wasn’t the only resident describing a rough night. In the Central West End, Alex Ward said he called 911 during gunfire outside his home and waited on hold for about seven minutes before hanging up. SLMPD told FOX 2 that Ward had actually called a non-emergency line, but Ward disputed that account and provided a call-log screenshot showing he had dialed 911. The department has said non-emergency calls stay queued until an operator becomes available, and that callers who hang up and call back lose their place in line — guidance that mirrors what SLMPD posts for all 911 callers…